Past to Present
by Blue-Monoceros
Summary: Jack has a blast from the past when he finds out one of his team members from his days with the special forces shows up at the air force academy, bringing along memories he had hoped would never resurface.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own any of the characters or original plots of the show. I merely toy around with them. All original characters belong to me, but I'm not greedy, if you'd like to use one, just let me know. Enjoy.

The light tapping and shuffling of the dress shoes worn by the academy cadets surrounded Jack O'Neill as he sat quietly on a wooden bench with a half eaten turkey sandwich in his hand. He watched the cadets walk briskly around him, throwing him crisp and clean salutes as they passed, and couldn't help but remember his days at the academy. He was merely eighteen years old, and had more ego then brains. His sarcastic comments, and lack of respect for authority quickly landed him in a conference with the General on more then one occasion. Jack shook his head and looked down at the freshly cut grass below his shined uniform shoes, and grinned. He had quickly learned that there was no place for that kind of attitude at the Air Force Academy. He shook himself out of his thoughts and wrapped up what was left of his sandwich before standing and tossing it into a nearby trash bin. A flash of blue caught his eye right before a small group of cadet jogged in formation by him.

A firm female voice barked an order that caught his attention as they passed. His head shot up and he looked around desperately for the owner of the voice. Not finding what he was looking for, he shook his head to clear it. It was impossible. He had not heard that voice in nearly ten years. The owner of it gone forever. Captain Callie Parker had served with him in his days with the Special Forces. He had not heard that voice since that day in Iraq. The day his world crashed down. The day that Captain Callie Parker was reported MIA and never heard from again.

"Sorry I'm late sir. I hope you weren't waiting long. My lecture went a bit over." Major Samantha Carter walked up next to him without him even noticing. He jumped at her voice being so close to him.

"Uh, no, not long." he took one more look at the people around him before looking over at his 2IC.

"You okay?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Na, I'm good. Ready to go teach these kids how to fly?" he grinned at her. She smiled back and headed down the sidewalk toward the air strip where they would be giving their demonstration. Jack took one more quick look over his shoulder to make sure his ghost wasn't sneaking up on him before following Sam down the sidewalk.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was beginning to set over the dusty red horizon of the barren wasteland of the Iraqi desert. Jack O'Neill sat among the sun burnt rocks that were strewn about the sand, leaning back against a big jagged outcrop of stone. His vision was fixed upon a long crack that ran through the dried orange dirt, reminding him of the cracks in his lips from lack of moisture. He could hear the ragged breathing of his young Captain as she sat down next to him. She leaned heavily against the rock and scratched at the layer of dried blood covering her chest and arms.

"I'm out." she said flatly tipping her canteen upside down to prove her statement.

"If we can make it to those rocks, we might be able to find some cover from the sun for awhile." he said pointing to the distant rocky peaks about a half mile ahead of them.

Suddenly a pair of hand reached down over the rock they sat again, wrapping tightly around his Captain. She let out a surprised yelp and flailed her arms out against the man that had appeared silently behind them. Jack jumped, then lunged for the opposing limbs. He was stopped immediately by some very strong arms, wrapping around him in a similar fashion. He swung out wildly, quickly realizing they were seriously outnumbered when three more men, clad in white loose fitting robes joined in on the assault. His sun drained muscles were quickly failing him as he fought against the attack. He heard a sharp yelp and looked up to see Callie in a similar state.

"Let her go!" he yelled, his foot making contact with one of his attackers. The two men that had a hold of Callie were pulling her back behind an uprising of rocks where Jack could no longer see her. His heart jumped into his throat. If he lost sight of her, she was gone forever and he knew it. Kicking out again, he pulled his arm away from his assailant enough to get a grip on the knife in his boot. He gripped it tightly and swung it out own of the hand that still had a tight grip on his other arm. He heard a loud wail as the knife dug deep into center of the white robe. Deep red instantly spread across the white. Dripping down his arm, as he held the knife deeply imbedded in the attackers gut. Jack's fury filled eyes met with the scared and pained eyes of the young man underneath th robes, before pulling the knife and turning to go after his Captain, letting the man fall to the dirt.

"Jack!" Callie's desperate yell drug him back to the situation as she kicked and flailed desperate trying to escape the sea of white robes that engulfed her. Jack gripped the slippery knife and rushed toward the group. Suddenly a heavy force hit him from his left, knocking him roughly to the hard dirt causing the knife to slip from his grip. Over the noise of the fight, Jack could make out the heavy flutter of an approaching helicopter.

'Please be ours, please!' he pleaded in his head as he rolled to fend off another attack of the man who had tackled him. Tears of frustration and desperation filled his eyes as he made eye contact with the man that stood, towering over him. He could hear Callie yelling his name, but his spent muscles wouldn't let him move. He looked her direction just to see the helicopter land and her captures drag her towards it.

"Jack!" he forced himself to his hands and knees and looked up. His eyes met those of his scared, Captain. Then, the white robed man who stood over him finally attacked. Swinging down with a brute force, and Jack's vision faded with the desperate face of his friend and Captain burned into his subconscious as he passed out.

Jack jumped awake, sat straight up, looking around him wondering where he was. His body was drenched in a cold uncomfortable sweat. He shut his eyes and willed his breathing to slow down and ease the pain in his chest. It had been years since he had thought about the long lost Callie Parker. He had pushed all of his memories of that fateful day in Iraq to the back of his mind and covered it up. He had lost all three members of his team that day. Two dead for sure. But it was the uncertainty of the fate of the Captain that had driven him crazy. He shook his head to clear the dream away. He got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. He braced himself on the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like hell. His hair was standing on end and his skin was pale and sweaty. He splashed some cold water in his face a few times, and wiped it off with a towel.

"Stupid dream." he said out loud as he turned the shower on hot and waited for it to steam. "Down the drain with it." he stepped into the shower to wash away to remnants of the memory.

The bustle of the Air Force academy never ceased to amaze him. Everyone was so busy, whether running to class, marching in formation, on a break studying, or just leaving for the day. Jack sat quietly at a folding table under a small canvass canopy set up for observing the cadets during their flights. He looked across the table at Sam, who stood busily working on some paperwork, more the likely reading through the cadet reports from the previous lecture.

"Hey!" he barked causing her to jump, "Whatcha doin?"

"Going over a couple reports from the lecture we gave yesterday." she grinned at him.

"Right." He sat back in his metal chair and adjusted his dress blue jacket. It was a bit warm outside in his class A's, but the canopy had made it tolerable. Sam didn't seem to mind wearing hers in the heat. He took his hat off and scratched at the silver eagle on the front with his fingernail.

"When are they supposed to start showing up?"

"1300 sir." she answered not looking up.

He looked at his watch that read 1247. He dropped his hand to the table and stood up, stretched his back and replaced his hat onto his head. He surveyed the surroundings, looking for the one of two students that may be coming to them early. No such luck. Off to his right he could see the giant obstacle course and a few blue and white figures running around on it.

"Lemme see those." he said to Sam, pointing at a pair of binoculars sitting on the table next to her. She handed them to him and he lifted them to his eyes.

The blue and white blob of a cadet in the middle of the rappel wall focused into the form of a young guy with the traditional academy cropped haircut. His face scrunched up into an unsure, and scared expression. His knuckles were white from gripping his rappel line so tight. His mouth moved as he silently yelled something. Jack moved the binoculars to the bottom of the wall and focused on the back of another person. The reflective wings on the back of the gray t-shift help up the word Instructor. The instructor pointed up at the cadet then down at the ground. Without hearing a word Jack could make out the gesture in a "Get your ass down here!" order.

"Bird watching Colonel?" Sam asked watching Jack looking through the binoculars at the obstacle course.

"Washout." he said back.

"Rappel wall?"

"Yup, probably gonna gave to send someone up to get him."

"Ouch." Sam set her pen down. "From what I hear that instructor is pretty tough."

"Good, we need to graduate some tough guys along with the geeks." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Here they come." she said indicating the group of cadets approaching. Jack set the binoculars back on the table.

"Lets fly."


	3. Chapter 3

"Cadet Foster!" Jack yelled out to the group. A young man about 22 years old rushed to the Colonel and snapped him a salute. "Highest test score in the class huh?"

"Yes sir!" Foster answered

"All well and good, but lets see what you got in the air shall we."

"Yes sir!" Foster grinned, saluted and jogged over to the prepped F16, climbed up into the open cockpit and waited for Jack to take the backseat.

"Good Luck sir." Sam grinned and took his coat and hat from him as he put on his helmet.

"If I die, you can have my telescope."

The rest of the cadets and Sam stepped under the canopy and took seats at the tables. The radio on the table next to Sam crackled.

"Delta Gulf 1, checkoff complete awaiting orders." Fosters voice cracked out. Sam picked up the radio mic.

"Roger, Delta Gulf 1, clear for takeoff on heading one, one, niner.

"Roger one, one, niner

The burners of the F16 fired up with a scream and the aircraft shot across the pavement until the wheels lifted off the ground and it was airborne. Sam made a note on her grading sheet and picked up the binoculars.

"Major Carter?" She turned to the cadet who had come to stand next to her.

"Cadet?" she acknowledged.

"Ma'am, I'm not sure I should do my flight today." Sam took the binoculars down to look at the young cadet. The young man looked at the ground nervously.

"Any particular reason why not?"

"Ma'am I may have injured my wrist on the obstacle course this afternoon."

"May have? Your instructor didn't send you to the infirmary to get it checked out?"

"No ma'am, the major was not informed of the injury." he fidgeted and refused to look at her.

"Head up Cadet." she ordered and his head snapped up to look at her. "You didn't tell your PT instructor that you may have injured your wrist?"

"No Ma'am."

"Why not?" the cadet was quiet for a few seconds. "Cadet?"

"Sorry Ma'am. Permission to speak freely?" Sam nodded. "The Major is not the most, sensitive, person when it comes to PT Ma'am."

"Meaning?"

"I would lose my status as a strong cadet Ma'am."

"Injuries happen Cadet. I'm sure the major would understand that you took responsibility by reporting the injury."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Report to the infirmary. We'll reschedule your test for another day pending results."

"Yes ma'am." With a quick salute the Cadet marched away toward the campus infirmary, leaving a few gossiping fellow classmates.

"Delta Gulf 1, permission to land?"

"Roger Delta Gulf 1. Maintain heading to runway 2-3." Sam answered picking the binoculars back up. "Delta Gulf 1, get your nose up!" she ordered into the radio and the aircraft's nose end dropped as the jet lowered. Immediately it straightened out and sped up, lifting back into the air.

"Copy Delta Gulf 1, standby for 2nd." Colonel O'Neill's voice cracked over the radio.

"Roger Delta Gulf 1, Go for 2nd."

The jet made a quick circle and made a quick smooth landing, after Jack had taken over controls. The jet coasted to a stop and the canopy opened so Jack and Cadet Foster could climb out. Foster picked up gear and left to the locker room as ordered before Jack approached the group again. He walked over to Sam and picked up a file.

"Cadet Conway."

"Infirmary sir." Sam answered.

"He was here earlier."

"Apparently he received an injury during PT and didn't report it. Wasn't sure if he should fly, so I sent him to get it checked it out."

"Right." Jack grabbed a different file. "Johnston."

"Sir, Cadet Johnston resigned this afternoon sir." answered a cadet from the group.

"He resigned?" Jack asked surprised.

"Yes sir."

"Right, ok," Jack tossed down the file. "Ok so I have what five, that still need to fly?"

"Minus Johnston and Conway yes sir." Sam answered.

"You," Jack pointed to a cadet sitting in front of him, "Lets go."

A few hours later, the remaining 5 cadets had all taken their flight and Sam and Jack sat at the folding table going through the files.

"How many in all?" Jack asked.

"Twelve on Tuesday. Ten on Wednesday, Ten Thursday and the six today. Thirty-eight possibles."

"Not a bad group. I know of at least four that will wash out by the end of the week."

"Oh come on sir, have a little faith." Sam grinned.

They collected their files and equipment and headed down the sidewalk to sign out.

"What do you think about Foster?"

"Not really sure yet. He's got the text down. Okay pilot, but can't seem to get the landing thing down."

"Kind of important."

A familiar voice to their right caused Jack's head to spin around. He scanned the area carefully looking for the owner. It was close, too close and clear to be his imagination. He spun in a circle settling on the faces of everyone around him, looking for one in particular. A few yards ahead of him, between the navy blue of the cadet, he spotted a worn white baseball cap. The word Air Force faded out across the back. His heart skipped a beat. The hat went around the corner of the building and out of site. Jack broke into a sprint toward it, leaving behind a very shocked Sam Carter. He dodged and spun around a few cadets in his pursuit. He rounded the corner, scanning desperately for the familiar Air Force cap. Sam caught up to him.

"Sir?"

"I...I thought I saw someone." he answered scanning the area. He heard the bell of an elevator in the building to his right. He turned to face it. Through the giant glass windows of the third floor walkway he spotted her. Wearing Air Force PT shorts, windbreaker and worn baseball cap. His eyes dropped to the very familiar mark of the Special forces tattoo that he himself had watched her get more then 10 years ago.

"Carter quick do you see her?" he begged.

"See who?"

"Women in PT gear and baseball cap on the third floor?" He looked at her with wild eyes that startled her. She looked up to the third floor windows.

"I don't see anyone in a baseball cap sir. Are you okay?" He looked up and the woman was gone.

"I...I don't know."

Sam followed Jack back to car in the parking lot and they drove back to the SGC. He could see her looking at him through the corner of his eye, and knew he owed her an explanation. He finally broke the silence.

"I've been having dreams. Dreams I haven't had in years."

"What kind of dreams?"

"My last mission with the special forces. I lost my whole team on that mission." He focused intently on the road ahead of him to avoid her gaze as he continued. "My buddy Mike and I were like brother's through basic and went through Black Ops training together. When he made it through training, I bought him a limited edition white Air Force baseball cap. He wore that damn thing everywhere, never took it off. When we'd go on missions, he'd tuck it into his pocket so he wouldn't stand out like a polar bear in the forest. Later on we met this airman name Callie Parker. Damn good soldier. We worked her through special Ops and on her graduation day, Mike gave her that hat."

"Like a passing of the torch." Sam commented, distracting him for a second.

"She did the same thing that he did. Never took the damn thing off. That same night the three of us went out and did a little celebration drinking. Callie decided she wanted to get the Special Forces eagle tattooed on her leg. So against our better judgment we all went out and she did it. Right across the side of her calf, big ole eagle." He snickered and Sam gave him a sympathetic grin. The story obviously brining back some dark hidden memories.

"We were one hell of a team the three of us. We were sent on a mission to Tikrit to get some intel on a terror group. The whole think was screwy from the beginning. They were on us in minutes. We lost Mike in the initial attack. He bled out before we could do anything to help him. We were under heavy fire and they were closing in on us. I had to physically drag Callie away and we were forced to leave him there." Jack paused for a few minutes, the long hidden memory flooding over him.

Sam reached over and wrapped her hand around his, letting him know she understood and he could trust her. Jack's dark eyes looked down at her hand holding his and then up at her.

"We managed to evade them for 24 hours. We were out in the god forsaken desert with empty guns, empty canteens and nothing but sun. We knew they weren't far behind us, but weren't sure how far. There were these little mountains about a mile ahead of us. We thought that if we could reach the mountains, we would be able to find enough cover to wait them out until evac caught signal of our locators. They caught us by surprise. We had no idea they were as organized as they were. They outnumbered us 3 to1 and after being in the sun for 16 hours, hand to hand isn't much good. Instead of killing us both right there, they took her. I woke up 5 days later in a base hospital after they tracked down my locator. Watching her dragged into an Iraqi helicopter was the last anyone ever saw of her. She was reported a POW and never found."

Sam sat quietly taking it all in. It must have been horrible for him.

"Colonel, I'm sorry. I can't imagine."

"It was a long time ago. I'd pushed the memories out. Hell I hadn't even thought about it in years."

"Why now?"

"I saw her today Carter. Callie Parker was at the Air Force academy."

"Sir, Are you sure?"

"I didn't get a good look at her, but she was wearing the hat, and had the tattoo. I'm tellin you Carter she was there." he rubbed his hand over his face. "I must be losing my mind."


	4. Chapter 4

A heavy rain pattered on the windsheild as Sam drove toward the Air Force academy. Due to the weather, all flights for the day had been canceled, so there was no reason for Jack to tag along. Sam on the other hand, had a lecture in quatum mechanics which brought her out into the rain. She had left early early in hopes of getting some prep time before the cadets came flooding in out of the rain.

She pulled the sedan to the gate and rolled down the window blocking as much rain from coming in as she could, while taking the clipboard from the MP. She quickly signed her name, rank and date and handed the clipboard back. The drop gate lifted and returned the salute to the MP before pulling the sedan through the gate. A nagging feeling in her chest caused her to stop the car. She suddenly she realized what it was and hopped out of the car. She ran through the rain, back to the guard shack and yelled at the MP.

"Airman! I need to see that clipboard!"

The confused MP handed her the chart and she scanned the sheet. There it was, she hadn't imagined it. A few lines up from ber own signature was the print and signed name of Major C. Parker. She stared at the signature for a few minutes wondering what this meant for Colonel O'Neill.

"Ma'am, is everything alright?" the MP asked.

Sam blinked away the stare and looked up at the young guard. She then realized she was standing in the road, in her class A's getting soaked by the rain.

"Yeah, sorry, thanks." she handed him the sheet and jogged back to the car. She sat still for a few seconds before putting the car in drive and pulling into the staff parking garage.

Sam completely forgot that she had come early to set up for her class as she walked quickly the General's office. She flunf some of the water out of her hair with her hand as she got some strange looks from passing cadets and staff. When she arrived at the General's office, she knocked on his open door and entered.

"Sam!" he greeted cheerfully, "You're here early."

"Yes sir, I was going to set up before they started coming in out of the ran."

"Maybe hiding from the rain isn't such a bad idea." he teased watching her attempting to dry her face with her sleeve.

"Yes sir." she grinned. "Sir, I was meaning to ask you about a Major Parker?"

"Ah, our new PT instructor. What about her?"

"I've not met her. I've just heard a little about her and was wondering who she is."

"I don't really know her all that well. We got her about a month ago from DC."

"From DC?"

"Yeah, she's Special Forces on some sort of leave for awhile. General Ryan sent her to us to help us out until she's cleared back to full duty."

"Cleared for what?"

"I don't know the details, but from what I've heard, she's recoverying from a mission gone south."

The General studied Sam for a few seconds, the wheels in her head turning at full haul.

"She's out on the obstacle course all day if you want to stop and say hello."

"I just might." she said before excusing herself. She still had a few minutes to set up for her lecture before the cadets would start piling in.

A few hours later, Sam sat at her desk shuffling her files as her class of cadet filed out of the room. She rubbed her hands over her face and looked out the window at the drizzling rain. She pictured in her mind the poor cadets running wildly through the mud of the obstacle course, while ordered about by an special forces major. She briefly wondered if it was the right thing to do, to go and speak to the Major without consulting Colonel O'Neill. Making a decision she stacked her files, put them into her briefcase and walked out of the classroom.

The steady rain splattered against the top of Sam's umbrella as she walked through the security fence of the academy's obstacle course.

"Not the outfit I would have picked to play on the obstacle course in the rain Major." A voice behind her startled her.

Sam turned to face a darked haired woman that stood behind her. The rain dripped off the bill of the Air Force baseball cap she wore and splattered on her already soaked PT t-shirt. She stood a few inches shorter than Sam but similar in build. She pointed down and Sam's feet. Her dress shoes had an inch of mud clinging to them from the short walk through the gate. She noticed the mud that covered Parker's white Nike's crept up her right leg to the eagle tattoo on her calf.

"I guess I hadn't thought that through." Sam smiled. "Special Forces?" she pointed at the tattoo.

"Not at the moment. Callie Parker." she extended her hand to Sam.

"Samantha Carter."

"What can I do for you Major?" she asked looking out onto the course at the scrambling mud covered cadets.

"Well, thats kind of a long story." Sam grimaced, not really knowing how to start.

"What the hell," she groaned. Sam looked up following Parker's line of vision. Her eyes set on a muddy cadet just as he swung a fist at another, who retaliated by slamming into him in a violent bear hug, taking them both down into a puddle.

"Excuse me Major." Parker jogged over to the fighting cadets with Sam at her heels. "Break it up cadets!"

By the time they got up to the cadets, one had taken control and giving the other cadet the worst beating of his life. Parker slide to a hault grabbed the cadet by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up out of the mud as Sam helped the other cadet to stand. The cadet in Parker's grip swung out wildly, adrenaline getting the best of him. Parker stepped back, avoiding the strike while pulling the cadet into a smooth toss over her hip. Muddy water splashed up with the impact of the cadet's weight as he face planted the ground.

"Cool it Harper!" Paker shouted wrenching his arm behind his back.

Sam held up the bleeding cadet, watching the Major wresling in the mud. Suddenly the cadet's feet were flipping through the air as he was thrown down hard into a mud puddle.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Parker barked at the young man.

"Major!" Sam shouted as the cadet's face wrenched in pain as the Special Forces Major wrapped him up into a controled hold.

"Get up!" Parker pulled the student up by his shirt, "Clean yourself up and report to General Sanders." she ordered.

Parker blew her sports whistle to gain the attention of the cadets on the course.

"Early Dismiss Cadets!" she yelled. The cadets quickly began to clear the course and head to the locker rooms.

"I'm sorry Major. I'll take care of your dry cleaning." Sam looked down at her dress blues that were now splattered with mud, her shoes completely ruined.

"Oh. Not your fault Major. What was that all about?"

"On going pissing contest between those two. They've been neck and neck on PT scores for as long as I've been here."

"So this isn't a first occurance?"

"Hardly. If you ask me they just need some time in the ring to get their hits in."

"Not likely. He'll be expelled within the hour now."

"Not if I have any say in it."

"What do you mean?"

"A little scuffle bewteen men isn't a rare occurance Major."

"Major, that cadet swung on you."

"Ok, I admit that was a bit over the top. Adrenaline got the better of him, we'll have to work on that."

"Your'e somethin else Major." Sam shook her head.

"So I've been told. So, what was that long story, you had to explain why you were out here in the rain to see me?"

"Yeah, about that..." Sam thought for second, "It turns out we have a mutual friend."

"Oh yeah?"

"Colonel Jack O'Neill."

Major Parker stopped in her tracks, the color draining from her face as she stared at Sam.

"Major, are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry. Did you say Jack O'Neill?"

"Thats right."

"You must be mistaken Major. The Jack O'Neill I know is dead."


	5. Chapter 5

Colonel Jack O'Neill sat with his feet on his desk trying to untangle the string of his yo-yo when Carter knocked lightly on his door. He sat up straight and shuffled some papers around his desk looking busy. "Hey Carter. Havin fun teachin the kids about doohickeys and whatsists?"

"Yes sir. Sir, she's really there." he sat straight up in his chair dropping his feet to the floor. "Major Parker is the PT instructor at the academy sir."

"Thats impossible." he said more to himself then to Sam.

"No sir. I went in early and saw her name on the sign in sheet. We hadn't seen it before because we got in later. The sign in sheet was on a new page."

"You're sure? Its gotta be a different Parker."

"I'm sure sir. I had quite the conversation with her myself sir."

"Conversation about?"

"Sir, she thinks you're dead."

"I'm not dead. Shes dead."

"I think its safe to say neither of you are dead sir."

"Why would she think I'm dead?"

"I don't know sir. She uh, got a little short with me after that."

"She got short with you?"

"Well, its not everyday you find out a long lost comrad is alive and well."

"Ya think!"

"I'm sorry sir, this has got to be hard for you. But there's got to be another explanation for all of this."

"Unscheduled Offworld Activation!" The intercom blared overhead.

Jack and Sam jumped and sprinted off toward the control room. General Hammond stood cross armed in front of the window overlooking the gate room. He turned and looked at his officers as they came to stand behind him. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c appeared from the stairwell next to them.

"Whats going on?" Daniel asked wiping at the spilled coffee on his shirt with a napkin.

"SG12 dialed in, but they're not due for another 6 hours." Hammond explained.

Down below them, SG12 emerged from the event horizon and walked casually down the ramp. They handed off their weapons to awaiting SFs as the gate shut down behind them. General Hammond and SG1 walked down to the gateroom and approached SG12.

"Colonel Walker, what happened? You're not due back for another six hours."

"Well General, the Vacadian counsel have agreed to begin negotiations for unlimited use of the naquada mines."

"Thats good news Colonel. We'll debrief in one hour. SG1 join us."

An hour later SG1 joined General Hammond and SG12 around the briefing room table.

"The Vacadian's seem to a fairly primitive race sir. Though primitive they seem to have a very advanced system for processing the naquada. The ruins we encoutered close to the gate were based with a trinium lining. So not only do they know how to mine the naquada more efficiently, but they can manipulate their metals into any form they want to."

"General, if this is true, we could be on the brink of an industrial revolution. With that much naquada and the means to mine it, sir this could be what we've been looking for for years." Sam rambled looking over the maps that SG12 had handed out.

"What are they asking for in return?" Daniel asked.

"They want defenses sir." Walker replied "They want guns, and they want us to show them how to use them."

"Are not the Vacadians already formidable warriors?" Teal'c asked.

"Well, yeah. But only hand to hand. They're still using spears and bows as weapons sir. Basically they want us to train their small military, so that they might stand a chance if the Gou'ld ever return."

"How likely is that to happen?"

"I'd say its a fairly good chance sir. Once they find out they have that much raw naquada, there's no way they'll let that go."

"Sounds like more than a fair trade to me." Daniel added looking to the head of the table where Hammond sat contemplating the information.

"I agree. Colonel O'Neill, I want you and your team to accompany SG12 to P4X-393 to oversee negotiations. Make sure these Vacadians are who they say they are."

"Yes sir."

"Good. You leave in forty-eight hours. Dismissed."

"Jack, are you alright? You seem a little...distracted." Daniel asked as they walked down the corridor toward the commissary.

"Huh? Oh yeah, peachy. I'll meet up with ya later." he broke away from the team and headed to the elevator.

Jack needed some fresh air and some time to think. The elevator lurched as it haulted at the surface of the mountain. He pulled his hat on lower on his forehead against the rain. He hopped into his pickup and fired it up, cranking up the defrost as he pulled the diesel out onto the highway.

As he pulled his truck up to the academy guard shack, he wondered why his drive had landed him here. He walked slowly down the sidewalk through the campus courtyard. A few random staff and students wandered around various parts of the campus in the quiet after hours in the hopes of getting extra work done. A slow movement drug his attention east toward the obstacle course. Even from this distance he could make out the form of his former captain. She ran the course with the flare and grace the only came with years of experience. She climbed over the rope wall with ease and landed on the other side in a solid stance before running to the next obstacle.

He walked through the gate to the course and stood against the fence and waited for her to run around the track to him. In a few minutes, she rounded the corner of the rappel wall and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. He slowly closed the distance between them and watched her struggle to catch her breath. They stood in silence and stared and each other for what felt like an eternity.

"Long time no see." he finally broke the silence.

"What are you doing here Jack?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"Pardon?" his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Thats what I get for not being dead?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"You told my friend you thought I was dead Parker."

"I didn't know what else to say. Your friend caught me off guard. I didn't expect you to show up here."

"YOU didn't expect ME!" He squeaked out, "Jesus Callie, you've been missing for damn near ten years!"

"Actually I was only missing for five years. Thanks for looking for me by the way." she said sarcastically.

"What?" the unexpected answer shocked him. "Callie, we searched for you for six straight months!"

"Forgive me for not patting you on the back Colonel, but six months search for a five year MIA just doesn't quite give me the same amount of conidence in our good ole Uncle Sam."

"Oh for cryin out loud Callie! If I would have been able to look for you myself, I would have and you know it." Jack pleaded. "It was a rough mission for everyone."

"Rough?" she laughed "Tell that to Mikey."

"Thats low Cal. There was nothing we could do for Mike. He was dead regardless and you know that." Jack stuck his finger in the face of the glaring Major.

"Callie, I know that mission went to hell. I Lost 3 members of my team that day. Now suddenly one of them reappears out of nowhere. You can't imagine how that feels."

"What do you want from me Jack?" she begged, eyes brimming with tears, which she quickly blinked away. "What did you expect to show up here, and everything would be like old times?"

"Of course not. To be honest with you, all I wanted was to see for myself that I wasn't losing my mind." Jack's voice softened. "My life ended that day in Iraq Callie. I died right along with you. It took every ounce of strength and will power that I had to move on and forse the memories to disappear. Now here you are, alive and well. There's no words to explain."

Callie's features softened a bit as she listened to Jack's confession.

"Jack, I don't blame you for what happened. I know you did everything you could to find me. I know you better then that."

"Why didn't you cantact me when you got back?"

"I wasn't exactly in the best shape when I finally got back. You've seen those camps. I asked them not to contact you because I didn't want you to see me like that."

"Why not after?"

"I looked you up once. Got as far as your house. But then I saw you, playing out in the back yard with Charlie. You looked so happy and just peaceful. I couldn't do that to you. Not when I know it had taken you years to get to that point."

"So what now?"

"I don't know. I guess I keep yelling at these brats, and you keep doing whatever it is you do."

"You're not a teacher Callie."

"Not much else for a washed up Black's Ops officer."

"You'd be suprised."

"Face it Jack, we're a dying breed."

"What if I could offer you something more. Something more incredible then you can imagine."

"I'd say it sounds too good to be true, and you'd have to have one hell of a standing to get me into something like that. From what I remember the higher ups don't like you all that much." she teased.

"Just one. And he loves me. Well, likes. He likes me...Most of the time."

"And that Major Carter, she's a part of this overly incredible something?"

"That's right."

"I'd have to wonder what an old Black Ops Colonel and an astrophysicist are doing under a mountain in Colorado that I could possible have any part of."

"Theres also and archeologist and...a big guy. Are you interested?"

"How can I resist an offer like that? Plus you said it yourself. I'm no teacher."

Back at the SGC

"General, I've served with Major Parker. She's one of the best soldiers I have ever seen. She's wasted talent at the academy sir. She would be perfect for the SGC."

Jack explained to Hammond.

"From what I hear Colonel, she's been a handful for the Air Force since the day she returned from her POW status. She has little to no respect for authority and doesn't work well with others. I'm sorry Colonel, but that doesn't sound like an officer for this program."

"General, I'm askin you please. Just give her a chance. Boredum brings out bad behavior in person like her. She's bored in her assignment sir. She'd be different if she had something worth fighting for again. This mission to P4X-393 is a pefect opportunity for her to get her feet wet. Who better to teach them how to defend theselves then the academy's PT instructor."

"This means alot to you doesn't it Jack?" the General stated more then asked.

"Yes sir. It does."

"Okay Colonel, bring her in. I'm not promising anything permanant, but for this mission she's under your command."

"Yes! Thank you sir!"

That afternoon Callie found herself sitting alone at a huge table. The two SFs standing at the doorway watched her silently as she picked at a tear in her baseball cap.

She scanned the room, looking intently at the large metal sheild covering the large window.

"Whats with the, big metal window?" she asked the SFs. Neither acknowledge her question. "No comment huh? I figured as much."

Finally the door opened and Jack walked in with a big grin plastered on his face. He took a seat from across the table and stared at her for a second.

"Airman, open the blast doors." he ordered. Suddenly the metal window covering slid up with a groan. Callie spun her chair toward the window as it revealed the gate room below, stargate standing tall in its center.

"Wow," Callie nodded, "What is it?"

"That Major, is what we call the stargate. Its an instantaneous trip to other planets."

"To other planets? "

"Thats right. Myself, Carter an Daniel Jackson and an alien named Teal'c are one of 22 teams that travel through the gate looking for new technology's and...stuff."

"So where do I fit into this?"

"We're supplying some aliens with guns, and teaching them how to use them. We could use your help."

"I thought I wasn't a teacher." she flashed him a sideways grin.

The door opened behind them and stood to attention as General Hammond, Major Hammond, and two other men entered the room.

"At ease Major." Hammond said motioning for her to sit. "Am I correct in assuming Colonel O'Neill has briefed you on your new assignment?"

"Ah, yes sir. I think so." she answered glancing at Jack.

"Good. You will be under the command of Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter until further notice. You will embark at 1420 hours. Suit up SG1. Dismissed."

The group stood as one, and began to trickly out into the corridor leading to the armory.

"Major, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c." Jack introduced as they walked. She shook each of their ands with a friendly smile. She looked up at Teal'c, who towered over her.

"Civilian?"

"I am not of this world." he answered.

"Oh," she looked bewildered, "Right. Sorry. Nice...thing by the way." she motioned to her forehead. "Flashy"

"You ain't seen nothin yet." Jack grinned.

"Major Carter," Callie caught Sam as the entered the armory. "I owe you an appology. I got a little short with you the other day, and I had no right."

"Oh." Sam was slightly surprised, "Don't worry Major, I understand."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sam smiled and patted her on the back, leading her into the armory. "Here" She handed her a zat.

"What's this?"

"Oh, its a weapon." Sam activated it. "One shot stuns, Two kills."

"Oh, ok...weird"

Jack grinned and took the zat from her and handed it to Teal'c before handing her a Berretta instead. She looked up at him and flashed another sideways grin. They finished suiting up and made their way to the gate room. The door opened and they lined up at the bottom of the ramp. The gate spun as the chevrons engaged. The event horizon formed and Callie jumped causing the rest of the team to grin.

"You get used to it." Sam smiled.

"Ok campers, keep your hands and feet inside the gate until we've come to a complete stop." Jack rambled as he led the team up the ramp.


	6. Chapter 6

The event horizon disengaged behind the team as they stood on the pedestal leading up to the gate. Daniel stepped quickly down the steps to a large pilar covered with etched markings. Jack pulled on his sunglasses and looked around at the pile of rubble that might have once been a building. Sam crouched down at the MALP and removed the control, to move the MALP further away from the gate. Callie pulled her cap from her pocket and pulled it down over her head as she walked up behind Daniel.

"Whats it say?" she asked. Daniel turned to look at her, unaccustomed to anyone showing interest in his work.

"Oh, uhm, well. Basically it says that the Vacadian's were brought here by the Goa'uld thousands of years ago. There's lots of holes in the story but this is just one piece. From the maps we got from SG12, these are just remenants." he looked down at the Major, who wrinkled her nose at the pilar. "You have no idea what I'm talking about."

"None what so ever."

"Lets move out, we've got a walk ahead of us." Jack ordered patting his P90.

"So, uh, Teal'c right?" Callie began as they walked.

"That is correct."

"So whats your story?" Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"I have given my allegiance to the people of Earth, just as you have."

"Not exactly. My vow is to the United States."

"Well, Major, Don't you think thats changing considering we're on another planet?" Daniel asked from behind her.

"I hadn't thought about it. I haven't been to another planet before."

"We fight for mankind, not just Americans."

"What are we fighting against?"

Daniel shot a questioning look toward Jack.

"Aliens." Jack answered sarcastically. Callie arched an eyebrow in a mirror image of Teal'c.

"When you explore the galaxy, you run across some evil right along with the good." Sam added. "One species in particular, called the Goa'uld. They're paracidicle beings that take humans as hosts and slaves."

"Why don't we just destroy them?" Sam winced.

"Its not that easy. The Goa'uld are a highly advanced race. They have weapon's that overpower anything we have by ten times. Though we've managed to hold them back thus far with the few superior allies we have."

"So, you just travel from planet to planet hoping to find something that will give you the upper hand?"

"Pretty much yeah."

Callie stopped suddenly, gripping her P90 and turning toward the tree line to their left. The team stopped and turned.

"I heard something." The team scanned the treeline for any movement.

"Come on out!" Jack yelled raising his gun.

A young boy, about 9 years old stepped out of the treeline holding a bow at his side. Jack lowered his gun and looked to Daniel.

"Hi. I'm Daniel Jackson."

"I am Kodan. Son of Zakiel. I have come to lead you to the villiage of Lakoda." the boy answered bowing his head.

"Our friends, they sent supplies ahead of us, are they in Lakoda?"

"Yes. Many crates of supplies. They awaiting your arrival. I feared you would not come."

"Oh come on, we're not that late." Jack groaned as they followed the boy.

"Do all of the natives dress like tarzan?" Callie whispered to Sam.

"Only the warriors."

"Oh. Have any of their warriors hit puberty?"

The villiage wasn't exactly what they had expected from a civilization that could bend and mold trinium to any form. Dozens of single room grey rock buildings made up the villiage of Lakoda. They followed Kodan through the center of the buidings to a large stack of black plastic crates set against the side of a building. As Jack and Daniel stood off to the side to speak with the leader of the Vacadians, Sam and Teal'c unstacked the crates and began taking inventory of the weapons SG12 had brought. Callie picked a smaller box from the pile and set it aside on the ground. She crouched down and opened it up, a childlike smile spreading across her face. Inside the box, packed in foam casing were the broken down pieces of a sniper rifle. Sam grinned at the amused look on the younger Major's face.

"Like a moth to flame." Jack said from behind her. "Thirty some odd crates and you immediately find that one."

"What is it?" she asked running her fingers over the shiney black stock of the firearm.

"Its a prototype. A lightweight rebuild of the XM109. Pretty aint it?" Jack grinned.

"Jack, we're teaching the Vacadians how to sharp shoot?" Daniel whined.

"No Daniel, relax. Who better to test the new toy then a Special Forces sniper?"

"You're a sniper?" Sam stared shocked at Callie.

"Not in a long time."

"It'll come back to ya." Jack patted her on the back. "But first we need to get our, dare I say, recruits together."

"We need to find Zakiel. He's the head warrior." Daniel directed.

"Lead the way Danny boy."

They found Zakiel, who led them to a large stone slab with multiple stone benches lining the outside. Dozens of Vacadians filed into lines and turned their attention to small team standing in the center of the circle. Men of all ages, dressed just like the young boy that had led them to the villiage. The older men wore bright colored designs painted down their arms, and some across their chests. Watching them file in around them, Sam nudged Callie.

"There's one thats hit puberty." she whispered.

Callie looked around Sam at a man that had to at least be in his 80s. His long white beard reached down to his pudgy midsection. His age wrinkled skin, painted brightly with red and green designs right down to the leather cloth he wore around his waist. Callie wrinkled her nose and turned back to Sam, causing Sam to laugh. When the movement stopped around them, Jack spun in a circle looking around.

"Uh, Hiya folks" he waved. "Where do we start?" he whispered over his shoulder to Sam

"Seperate them into age groups?" she suggested.

"Good lets do that!" he clapped his hands together. "Alright folks, I need everyone under the age of, say 18 come here. If you're between 18 and I don't know 30 over here and anyone over 30 over there." he motioned the sections with his hands.

"Uh, Jack, I don't think they use years as age." Daniel told him as the warriors looked around confused.

"Of course they don't."

Jack sighed and stepped over to a boy that was Koden's age and led him over to the section he had first indicated. Grabbed another young boy, and led him to the same section. After nearly an hour of the team physically moving the Vacadians into their groups, they finally had an organized start. Jack finally sat them all down and they went over the importance of gun control and the the firearms safety 101 late into the afternoon before breaking for the day.

"So, how are we going to do this Jack?" Daniel asked as they were sitting around the center of the villiage after ending the class for the day.

" First thing tomorrow and we need to set up a shooting range. All we need to do is bring them down to the range in small enough groups to get one on one instruction."

"Sir, we took inventory of the firearms. We have two crates of P90s, two of M16s, one of Berrettas and the rest are ammunition." Sam commented.

"If we each take two or three at a time, we can get fifteen to twenty done at a time. At that rate, they should be able to put them to practical use within the week."

"Thats good."

"You sound disappointed." Daniel commented.

"Not everyday we get to relax and have fun with an offworld assignment. I mean come on, we get to teach a bunch of guys to shoot. Thats like a vacation."

"Hey Jack are you watching this?" Callie asked pointing to a pair of Vacadians sparring in a small clearing.

A young man about 18 did a beautiful spin kick, which the other swiftly dodged and retaliated with an elbow strike. The elbow made a hard impact with his opponents chin knocking him off balance. The man quickly recovered and flipped himself back to him feet, delivered a roundhouse that caught his offender in the ankles and knocked his feet out from under him. The youn Vacadians moved with smooth practiced movements that could be easily change from being fun, to being lethal. The SG team watched the boys with a soldiers facination, Callie sittin on her haunches a few feet away from them.

"Would you like to try Major?" A young man with blue painted stripes around his biceps walked up next to Callie.

"Try what, that?" she pointed at the sparring teens. "Yeah right."

"Do not such formidible warriors of the Tauri engage in combat unlike this?"

"The what?"

"Tauri, thats us" Daniel answered from behind her.

"Oh right. Not like that."

"How do you do it without firearms?"

"Uh, well, its a little more speratic and I guess, clumsy lookin in comparison."

"Could you show me?"

"Oh, well, it doesn't really work with one person."

"Colonel O'Neill could assist you." the boy looked expectantly at Jack. Jack's eyebrows shot up and he choked on the beverage Koden had handed him. Sam and Daniel looked at him amused and even Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah Colonel, you could assist." Sam teased.

"Uh, whats your name?" Jack asked.

"Toku."

"Right, Toku. I don't think a sparring match with Major Parker would really be fair."

"Is not Major Parker as efficient in combat as yourself?"

Callie cocked her head at the Colonel, and the rest of the team waited intently for his answer.

"I didn't say that. Knees are actin up a bit. I'm sure Teal'c would help ya though. " Jack looked smugly at Callie, whose face fell as she looked at Teal'c.

**Authors Note:** Wow, I had no idea this story would go over so well. I suffered from a little bit of writer's block and hope this chapter lives up to expectations. I wanted to give the characters some time to have a little fun and get to know each other before I get a little deeper into the plot. I have a bunch of new ideas running through my head on the direction I want to take this story. More fun will ensue. I posted this chapter once by accident before it was complete. I made some small changes to the end and decided it would be more fun to watch Callie attempt a spar with Teal'c. Sorry for the confusion if you read this chapter before I changed it. Hope you like it.


	7. Chapter 7

Teal'c raised his eyebrow at the Colonel and nodded toward Callie.

"I would be most willing to assist you in your demonstration Major Parker."

Callie looked around the group, looking for any sign of sympathy, but was meant only by looks of amusement.

"Uh, sure ok." She stood and O'Neill cocked his head in surprise.

She twisted her torso to stretch out her back and shoulder while standing in the clearing, waiting for Teal'c to approach her. When he stopped in the clearing, she turned to face him and found herself looking straight at his chin. She tilted her head back to look up into the face of the Jaffa and winced. She took a small step back away from him and turned and readjusted her baseball cap.

"Remember, this is just a demonstration right big guy." she told him as she took her stance and wrapped her hands into loose fists. "Don't take my head off."

Teal'c bowed his head and lifted his hands into a defensive position. Toku crouched down next Sam to watch the match between the SG1 members. Called moved her feet like a boxer and took a swift swing at Teal'c. The jaffa easily blocked the punch and landed a solid strike to her face. Callie landed flat on her back in a poof of dust and Jack, Sam and Daniel shared a simultaneous wince at the hit. Callie's could see the purple sky as her vision began to refocus and she rotated her jaw to make sure it was still working.

"What did I just say?"she barked

"You're head still remains Major Parker."

Callie rolled over and pushed herself to her feet and faced off to her opponent again.

"Does not the jaffa Teal'c have greater strength then that of Major Parker?" Toku whispered to Sam

"Yeah, you could say that."

Callie, took another swing followed quickly by a second, that made contact with Teal'c's chin. Teal'c reacovered faster then she had hoped and swept her feet out from under her, landing her flat on her back again. She stood quickly and surprised the Jaffa by running full speed at him, hitting him like a 120 pound football player, knocking him off his feet and onto his butt. Jack looked on with a curious facination.

"Is this how Tauri combat is supposed to look?" Toku asked Sam. Sam cocked her head, watching the much smaller Major and jaffa wresling in the dirt in front of them.

"Uhm, no not really." Sam giggled.

Callie decided she hadn't really planned out this attack the moment she hit she dirt wrapped around the knees of the alien she only met earlier that afternoon. All she knew is he had the upper hand in strength and obviously had some combat training of his own. All she could think to do was do something so random she might have the element of surprise. It had worked, but now she faced the problem of 'what now" The surprise hadn't lasted long and she quickly found herself in the dirt again after Teal'c had connected a strike to the pressure point in her shoulder. Her vision blurred for a moment before making out a silloette of a face in front of her.

Her chest seemed tight and an unexplainable fear gripped her. Her mind fogged over and refused to let her remember where she was and what she was doing. When the face of her attacker came into focus, it wasn't the face of the Jaffa she had been sparring with, but the evil face that haunted her dreams. The dirty face twisted into a sickening grin, full of stained crooked teeth and nauseating breath. This was no longer a fight for fun, this was a fight for survival.

Jack had been watching the entertaining sparring match between his former Captain and the jaffa from the sidelines, letting out an occasional snicker at the bizarre turn it had taken. Teal'c had just delivered a tv perfect strike to her shoulder, knocking the little major off of him long enough for him to stand. Suddenly Callie had rolled away from the larger man and had taken on a crouched stance that he had only seen taken by the Major in one other occasion. Her face was no longer one of amused horseplay but of a fearful distain that reminded him of a cornered pit bull. Her eyes glazed over and her jaw set as her hand crept around slowly to the waistline of her pants.

"Crap." Jack whispered to himself. "Stop her!" he ordered as he stood. "Teal'c!"

Callies hand wrapped firmly around the grip of the knife that hung in the sheath on her belt. She was about to lunge at her tormentor when she heard a shout from the left. She glanced at the movement next to her and suddenly her vision blurred again. She blinked hard and gripped the knife tighter. She shook off the fog and focused on the worried face of Colonel Jack O'Neill. She looked around confused at the Vacadians surrounding them and watching her with morbid interest.

"Callie?" Jack questioned watching her eyes become focused and soft again. She looked at him, down at the knife in her hands, then quickly up at Teal'c. She dropped the knife and pulled her hand back like it had burned her.

"Uhm, yeah. In a fight like that I would go to the closest weapon I had." she instructed Toku, covering herself. "Excuse me."

Callie hurried off toward the treeline behind them. The moment she was behind the cover of trees she dropped to her knees and heaved into a shrub. After a minute, she sat back on her feet got her breathing under control.

"Get a grip Callie. Not here." she said to herself before scooting away from the shrub a few feet and sitting down in the dirt.

"Jack, she's been gone over an hour. Don't you think we should go look for her?" Daniel exclaimed as they sat around the fire they had built after the sun had gone down and the planet's temperature had dropped.

"She'll be back Daniel." Jacks eyes stayed focused on the fire. "Give her another hour."

"What the hell happened out there?"

"Flashback. I didn't realize they were still that bad for her."

"She covers it well sir." Sam commented.

"Why don't you guys go ahead and turn in. I'll wait up for her."

They nodde and headed off to their designated dwellings. Sam waited until Daniel and Teal'c had disappeared into their room before she turned to Jack.

"You know, its not your fault sir." she said softely.

"I know Carter."

Sam nodded and entered the stone building that they had designated the 'women's bedroom' for their stay. She set up her cot and unrolled her sleeping bag out onto it before removing her boots and lighting a flame in the small latern the Vacadians had given them. She tucked her pack under her cot and set her zat under her travel pillow before setting up the other cot for Callie to use when she returned.

Not too long after, Sam heard the low voice of the Colonel talking a few minutes before the missing major walked into the room. She stopped at the foot of the cot and picked up her pack. She pulled the Berretta from her pack and tucked it under her pillow as Sam had done with the zat. She removed her baseball cap and pulled her t-shirt over her head to sleep in the tank top she wore underneath. In the dim light of the lantern Sam could make out some jagged scars that ran along her back, just above the low cut neck and peeked out from under the sleeve of the tank right above a tattoo that Sam couldn't quite make out. She wondered where she had recieved the scars and how.

"Thanks Major." Callie said quietly over her shoulder.

"For what?"

"Well at the moment for setting up the cot for me."

"Sure. You ok?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just needed some time to clear my head."

"Ya know, You're part of the team now. You don't have to go through things alone anymore."

"I appreciate that Major, I really really do. Be patient if it takes me awhile to warm up to everyone. Its been a long time since I've really trusted anyone but myself."

"Understandable. You can start by calling me Sam."

"Only if you call me Callie."


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Jack and Sam handed out unloaded weapons to a group of 15 Vacadians and followed Toku to a clearing where they could set up a shooting range. Once they arrived they set up paper targets at 10, 20, 35, and 50 yards from the firing line. Once targets were set, they reviewed the safety rules they had covered the day before, they went over how to load and unload the weapons. They ran through the process a few times and moved on to some dry fire drills.

Callie walked over to a small boy who was struggling with the weight of the gun. She crouched down beside him.

"Hi, whats your name?"

"Dorin." the boy answered as she took the gun from his little hands.

"Ok Dorin, lets try this one instead. " She pulled the Berretta from her leg holster, unloaded it, and handed it to him. She quickly covered how to load and unload the handgun, so get him caught up with the rest of the group.

"Ok, you ready?" she asked the young boy as the whole group stopped to watch him. The boy nodded. "Alright, line up this dot, so that it's between those dots and hold them over the target." she instructed pointing to the sites on the gun and supporting his hands with hers.

"Okay, now when I tell you, I want you to squeeze on the trigger slowly. You need to hold tight cause it's gonna kick back a little bit ok."

The boy nodded and when she told him it was ok, he tightened his grip on the gun, squeezing the trigger firmly. The firing pin made contact with the shell casing and the gun recoiled into the small hands of the boy, supported by those of Callie. The other Vacadians jumped at the sound even though they had all been instructed to wear earplugs for the duration of the training. The boy looked up at Callie who smiled and directed him to do it again. This time each SG1 member instructed a member of their group to do the same, until soon they had the whole group firing down the line at the targets they had set up.

An little over an hour later, the group sat taking a break and enjoying the shade of a patch of trees. Callie and Jack opened up the box containing their prototype sniper, as if two kids were opening up a christmas present. While Callie assembled the rifle, Jack ran off a couple hundred yards and set up a couple of targets for them to shoot at. He returned to find Callie sitting in the dirt with her cap pulled down over her eyes, as if he had taken a lifetime to set up the target.

"Me first." he said picking up the assembled rifle from next to her, causing her to hop up.

"Hey!"

"Your were napping."

Jack got down on his stomach, Callie plopping down next to him with a pair of binoculars.

"Is it just me, or are they like a couple of kids that just got a hold of dad's gun?" Daniel said to Sam as they watched the two officers laying in the dirt oblivious to the fact that they were attracting an audience.

"Ok, 6 shots. Highest score wins."

"Youre on."

Jack squeezed off his first round, the near silent shot and easy recoil had them smiling in delight.

"What is he firing at?" Dorin asked sitting down next to Sam.

"There are targets, like the one you were shooting earlier. They're just much further back."

"Beat that." Jack said pulling his eye away from the scope. Callie looked through the binoculars at Jack's target. Three clean holes scattered a tight cluster center mass of the mans outline on the target. Two more holes bore through in two clean head shots, and one more hole over the man's right shoulder. "First shot was a little off." he explained.

Callie took the gun from him and handed him the binoculars. She turned her hat around backwards and brought her right eye down to the scope. She spent a minute adjusting her sights and setting in deep into her shoulder. She fired one shot, adjusted her sights again, then the other 5 in quick succession. She brought her eye away from the scope and cracked a sideways smile. Jack brought the binoculars to his eyes and let out a groan. Six evenly spaced holes through the head of the target in the shape of a smiley face rubbed his loss in his face.

"I thought you weren't any good anymore!"

"I said I hadn't been a sniper in a long time, I never said I wasn't good."

After a few more shots from the prototype, Callie broke it town and packed it back into the box. The group returned to their spots and continued their practice.

A few minutes later a loud rumble drug their attention toward the villiage. A large plume of black smoke rose from above the treeline. A mechanical whine could be heard in the distance that Teal'c recognized instantly.

"An Alkesh." he said flatly.

"What? here?" Jack yelled as they ran after the large group of Vacadians toward the smoke.

As they neared the villiage they could hear staff blasts and loud yelling. Jack barked orders for them to get to the remaining cases of weapons and ammunition before the attacking Jaffa could find it.

"Spread out! Move to the gate and gather up as many Vacadians as you can on the way!"

As he yelled, the Alkesh circled and headed back in their direction. The treeline exploded in front of them into giant flaming splinters. They ducked to avoid debri as the Goa'uld ship flew over them at an insanely low altitude.

"What the hell is that?!" Callie yelled lifting her head and watching the ship fly over them.

"Its the Goa'uld!" Sam yelled back to her. "Sir, we're sitting ducks against the Alkesh!" Callie watched the explosions behind her with morbid facination. The pure power of it amazing to her. Weapons fire next to her snapped her out of her daze as Sam took down a couple of approaching jaffa. The Alkesh looped around and she heard Daniel yell that it was coming back. She blinked against the heat of the approaching explosion but her eyes focused on the small compartment holding the pilot. An idea popped into her head and she quickly scanned the area."

"Find cover and hold off the jaffa! I have and idea!" she yelled to Jack as she stood and ran back the direction they had come.

"Callie! Stop damn it!" he grabbed her as she ran past him and pulled her back down, barely pulling her out of the way of a staff blast. Teal'c quickly shot down the attacking Jaffa and turned his attention to a few more approaching.

"Jack, I have an idea! Let me go!"

"What are you crazy?"

"Sam's right, we need to take out that ship or we're all dead! Pull back to the center of the villiage. I'll meet you there!" She pulled away from him and took off at a dead run.

Callie's calves burned as she ran full speed, hurdeling over branches and rocks, glad she had spent so much time running the obstacle course at the academy. She dodged a few staff blasts and fired back over her shoulder as she broke free of the trees at their makeshift shooting range. She spotted the smaller black crate and scooped it up as she ran by. She jumped over a boulder into the trees and made her way back toward the villiage. Automatic weapons fire burst behind her and she felt a sharp searing pain bite into her left shoulder. The impact knocked her off balance and she tumbled over a large tree branch knocking the wind out of her. In the distance she heard a group of gunfire along with the explosions of the Alkesh. She pushed herself up, ignoring her injured shoulder and fired random shots behind her and sprinted toward the team, quickly gaining back the momentum she had lost. She spotted Jack a few yards ahead of her and slid to a stop next to him like a runner sliding into home. He jumped, to keep her from sliding into him as he fired over the small cover rock.

"Major! When I give you an order, you damn well do it!" he yelled at her. She ignored him as she flung open the lid of the box and began essembling the gun as fast as possible. Her progress was interupted as Jack through himself over her, sheilding her from falling debri as the Alkesh explosion hit only a few feet from them. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c fired heavily at the Alkesh pointlessly as it flew overhead. Callie pushed Jack off of her, and grabbed the last peice of the rifle, quickly twisting it into place.

"Cover me!" she yelled as she set the gun on a boulder and quickly adjusted the sights as the Alkesh circled again.

The glass covered cockpit of the Gould ship focused in through the scope. She held the target as it drew closer, until she could clearly make out the tattoo on the forehead of the pilot.

"Say cheese." she said to herself as she pulled the trigger. The glass covering splattered with a red mist and Callie cracked a half smile. She pulled her eye from the scope and looked up at the wobbly flight of the Alkesh. Her grin quickly vanished as the uncalculated risk became obvious as the ship lost altitude but not speed.

"Crap." she groaned. "Move!" The team broke cover and ran for distance. Callie realized she was missing something and glanced back to where she a had slid into Jack. There in the torn up debri covered dirt sat her beloved limited edition Air Force cap. She glanced up at the falling Alkesh. She sprinted toward the cap, and ran for all she was worth, when she reached the hat she bent down, grabbed it, switched directions and pushed herself forward in one smooth motion.

The team came to a stop and ducked down behind the remains of a building.

"Sir, where's Callie?"

"Oh for cryin out loud."

The collision of the ship into the surface of the planet caused the ground to shake so hard it knocked them off their feet. The shaking continued until the Alkesh came to a hault in the side of a hill and the air became insanely quiet. The sound of approaching footsteps had Jack gripping his Berretta tightly, as they neared, he jumped from his position gun at the ready, scaring the daylights out of the breathless Major, shoving her cap into her pocket.

"Where they hell did you go!?" he yelled lowerig his gun.

"I had to get Mike's hat." she answered as if it made complete sense.

"The hat? You ran under a crashing alien ship to get a dirty old hat? Jesus Callie, you're crazier then I thought."

At that moment a large metal ball rolled into the middle of the group.

"Whats that?" Callie pointed.

"Ah crap." Was all he could say before the Goa'uld grenade went off rendering them all unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9

Callie began to wake to the sound of men talking. Her chin rested against her chest as she sat upright in a wooden chair, hands bound behind her. Her shoulders and back muscles ached from the angle, and screamed at her with every breath. She was jerked awake by a splash of frigid cold water to her face as her captor flung the bucket. The wetness of the water mixed with the layer of sweat that covered her from the 120 degree Iraq heat, mixed with the heat that radiated off the large lamp pointed down at her.

"A shame to ruin such a prety face." he said in a heavy accent as he set down the bucket and pulled up a chair in front of her. "What were you and your team doing her Captain?"

"I already told you." she croaked through her dry throat.

"You only told me that you would not tell me anything."

"That still stands."

"Your team are dead Captain. Why are you still covering for them?"

"Not all of them."

"You speak of your friend in the desert. He was left with no shade, no food, no water, injured and unconscious. Believe me Captain, he is dead."

"You don't know him like I do." She grinned and he sighed.

"Who is this?"

He pulled a large photo from an envelope and held it out in front of her. Her heart clenched and skipped a beat as she looked into the blood covered face of Michael Walden. His glazed unseeing eyes staring back at her. She wanted to scream, wanted to break free and break her interogator's neck and stand laughing over his dead body. Instead she looked him in the eye and shrugged.

"Beats me."

Her heart broke as she said it. He had saved her ass more then once. He had been her best friend and mentor to her for years. She had been to numerous barbeques where she had watched him play happily with his two young sons, whom she herself had watched grow. Now, she denied him any little bit of recognition that he deserved. She would never forgive herself for that.

"Okay Captain. We will do it your way."

With a nod of his head, she found herself falling over from a hard strike to her left cheek. She yelped as her wrist snapped between the concrete and the wooden back of the chair she was strapped to. The sharp wooden back rest coming down on the narrow bone under her added weight. They quickly sat the chair back up and she spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor and glared at her interogator.

"You see Captain, I don't like to hit women, but you are unlike any woman I have met. I find that violence is the only thing you respond to."

"Thats where you're wrong."

"How so?"

"I won't respond to that either."

He nodded and and Callie closed her eyes for the blow that she knew was coming.

"Sir, I think she waking up." Sam yelled across the small hall to O'Neill

The men of SG1 were crammed into a small square cell across from the identical cell containing the women. Sam had waken up on the steel floor laying next to the still unconscious Major. She sat up and scanned the area, quickly spotting the guys across the hall. After an hour of light conversation between the them, Sam noticed Callie's face had twisted into a look of pain.

"Move away from her Carter." Jack ordered standing against the bars and watching them from his cell.

"Sir?"

"Relax Jack, I'm not losing it yet." Callie croaked from her spot on the floor.

"You ok?"

"Other then a massive headache, achey muscles and a bullet in my arm, I'm peachy." she whined as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Bullet?"

"What?"

Jack and Sam said in unison at the last part of the sentence.

"Yeah, I think one of the natives got a little overly excited with the P90."

"Well what'd you expect when you take off running through a massive firefight like a lunatic." Jack scolded.

"Yeah yeah, what do I get to look forward to now?"

"Oh, ya know, we'll be interrogated and possibly tortured until we give up the secrets of our planet."

"So just like old times then."

"You gonna be ok?" Sam asked quietly as she slid down the wall to sit next to her.

"I'll live." She closed her eyes and layed her head back against the wall.

"Any idea who this is?" Jack asked as he looked around the confining walls.

"I believe this is the ship of the Goa'uld Torthos." Teal'c said from his standing position at the bars of the cell.

"Have we met him before?"

"We have not."

"So whats his deal?"

"Where Torthos lacks in stradegy he makes up in numbers. He has not held a position amung the system lords in a great many years."

"So why would he show up now, and why there?" Daniel asked.

"I believe he may have discovered the naquada mines. With control of such a great amount of naquada he would be in a position of great power and resume his place among the system lords once again."

"Right. Of course."

They could hear the metallic footsteps from down the hallway before they saw the owners of the feet. A group of four jaffa, in copper colored armor rounded the corner and came to a hault in between the two cells. He glared at each prisoner individually before speaking.

"I am Morak. First prime to the great god Torthos." he gloated causing Callie to arch an eyebrow.

"Never heard of him." Jack replied.

"His name will not soon be forgotten, for his wrath is upon you for the damage you have caused."

Callie pointed and started to say something, but Sam pushed her hand down, the look on her face telling her to be quiet.

"Ive heard that before. Who told us that? I can't remember. Do you remember?" Jack asked Teal'c.

"Silence Swine!" He emphasized his order by smacking his staff weapon agaist the bars. Jack pulled his hands away just in time and wiggled his fingers in appreciation that they were okay.

"Laugh now. Soon you will be bowing at the hands of Lord Torthos."

Morak and his jaffa pivetted and returned down the hall, the echo of their footsteps following them.

"That was a Goa'uld? He's not so bad."

"That wasn't the Goa'uld." Daniel answered. "That was a jaffa like Teal'c. He's a servant of Torthos."

"And Torthos is the Goa'uld?"

"Right."

"Wonder how long he practiced in the mirror before perfecting that speech."

"A great man hours." Teal'c answered gaining a group of blank stares.

"T! A joke, I'm impressed." Jack grinned.

Daniel was shoved roughly into the cell by Morak and his men, nearly three hours after they had dragged him away to see Torthos. Teal'c and Jack helped him to the floor where he quickly let sleep take over. Callie watched the group of jaffa leave before standing against the bars and studying Daniel. She sighed, walked to the back of the cell and sat back down next to Sam. She winced as her injured shoulder made contact with the cold metal wall.

"You guys do this alot?"

"More then we'd like."

"So what happens now?"

"More then likely, he'll take us one by one and question us, demanding we tell him everything about ourselves and Earth."

"Well I won't tell him anything, considering I don't know anything."

"Talk anyway. If he thinks you don't know anything, he'll kill you."

"So use my imagination. I can do that." there was a long pause. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"If I los it at some point during this, don't let the Colonel blame himself okay."

"You'll be fine. You're part of the team now remember, we won't let you lose it."

As if on cue, the metal feet approached again. This time the group opened the door to the women's cell and pointed a crooked finger at Callie.

"You are next."

"Uh, no, I think I'm next." Jack jumped up.

"Silence! Lord Torthos commands this one. Do not worry, you will have your turn." The jaffa laughed and motioned for Callie to come.

"You want me, come get me." she spat. The jaffa stood, glaing at her and snarling from the door for a moment. She smirked, "Thats what I thought."

Callie stood and walked out into the hall. She quickly tossed her hat to Sam, telling her to take care of it for her, before letting herself be led away. After they were no longer in sight, Jack cursed and rattled the bars until Sam stopped him.

"Sir, did you see that?"

"See what? If you mean the Goa'uld nazis taking away yet another member of my team, yeah I saw that."

"They wouldn't come in here."

"What?"

"She told them to come in and get her, but they wouldn't. They didn't even acknowledge she'd said it."

"Meaning?"

"They are unsure of us O'Neill." Teal'c answered. "It is likely that Torthos has not encountered many Tauri."

"More specifically, any that have put up as much of a fight as we did." Sam added. "SG1 along with the Vacadians put a huge dent in his army."

"Get to the point."

"They are unprepared and unorganized. He wouldn't come in here because he's not sure if he could defend himself if we decided to jump him sir."

"He's scared of us?"

"Of any more then one of us at the same time. Sir, this is a huge advantage for us."

"So what's the plan?"

Callie walked casually down the long halls following the two jaffa, and occasionally looking back at the ones following her.

"So what is that, like a flower?" she motioned to the mark on his forehead. "Or maybe a frog?"

The jaffa ignored her and pushed her forward with his staff weapon.

"Ow, watch it." she scolded as the movement jarred her injured arm.

"You are weak. You will not last an hour at the hands of Lord Torthos." Morak gloated.

"Wanna set a wager on that?" she grinned smugly, though inside she was beginning to worry.

Torthos sat on a giant copper colored throne in the center of a large dark room. Callie squinted to make out his face, but quickly found herself more interested in the giant purple planet floating out the center of the huge window that circled the room. The goa'uld waved away his servants and studied the woman for a moment before speaking.

"Why do you not bow before your god?"

"I didn't realize he was here." she answered, taking a few steps toward the goa'uld. "Thats some cold you've got there."

"You are not of the planet Vacadian."

"Of what?"

"From where do you come from?"

"Chicago." She noted the remaining guards in the room as she spoke. Each of them moving closer to her, with every step she took toward Torthos.

"For what reason were you and your companions on Vacadia?"

"Where?"

"I grow weary of repeating myself Tauri."

"Listen Mentos, I don't know anything, you're wasting your time."

"You cannot lie to a god. If you do not tell me what I want to know, I will not hesitate to kill you and your companions."he threatened, crossing his hands over his dark green robe. "Now, who is your master?"

She thought for a second before looking up at the smug looking man sitting a few feet away from him.

"Okay, I'll tell you. Have you heard of a little guy by the name of Yoda?"


	10. Chapter 10

"How's Daniel?" Sam whispered to Jack. He looked down at the sleeping archeologist, then back at her.

"He's still out."

"Ribbon device?"

"Looks that way."

"Do you think any of the Vacadians survived the attack sir?"

"They may have stood a chance after the Alkesh went down."

"Only another sixteen hours until we're supposed to make contact with the SGC. At least then they'll start looking for us."

"Yeah."

"Sir, I know you're worried about how Callie is going to handle this."

"She's a POW again Carter. I did that to her."

"No sir, Torthos did that to her. Colonel, we don't even know how she'll react. We may be worrying for nothing."

"What if we're not?"

"Then we'll have to do everything we can to keep reminding her that we're here with her."

Jack though deeply for a few minutes then nodded.

"Get some sleep if you can Carter."

"Yes sir."

Meanwhile in Torthos's chamber, Callie paced the floor and watching the responsive movement of the guards, as she explained the importance of the balance of the force. She was interrupted by a deep throaty laugh coming from the throne in the center of the room.

"Your ridiculous story amuses me Tauri." Torthos smiled an evil smile.

"What? You don't believe me?"

"You have wasted much of my time. It is rare for me to allow such insolence to continue for such a long period."

"I can come back tomorrow then. " she said as she walked toward the door.

The two guards at the to we on her in an instant. They grabbed at her arms and drug her back to the center of the room before roughly pushing her down to her knees. The sound of her kneecaps hitting the floor echoing in her head. Torthos stepped down and circled her like a lion, studying her. She kept her back straight and head up, showing him she wasn't afraid of him. He stopped, studying something for a moment, before reaching his gold covered hand to her chest. He pulled away quickly, breaking to chain of her dog tags against the back of her neck in the process. He moved away slowly, studying the steel tags in his hand as he sat.

"These are identification?"

"Very good."

"What is USAF?"

She thought for a moment, until one of the jaffa moved in closer, ready to strike.

"United Systems Against Fakers" she said smugly.

A solid smack across the back of her shoulders caught her by surprise and sent her sprawling out on her stomach. She clenched her teeth as they instantly grabbed her shoulders and drug her back up onto her knees. Torthos dropped her tags to the floor and sat forward in his chair, cocking his head as he stared at her. Callie's stomach roiled at the scrutiny, but she stared right back at him. Her blue eyes icey against his much darker ones. His eyes twitched, moving from her to the jaffa standing behind her. The jaffa disappeared into a chamber to the rear of the room. She listened closely to his footsteps, now counting only three jaffa in the room. She ran the option of making a break for it through her head, but decided against it. Not in the fear of being killed, but in the fear of getting her friends killed as well.

"I have methods of extracting the information I wish of you."

The jaffa returned and crouched down at her side. Her held a small object between his fingers as he lifted his hand to the side of her head. She twitched and turned her head away from him as he inserted the memory device into her temple. He stood and bowed to his god before stepping aside. Callie squinted against the pinching feeling in her brain and looked back up to Torthos.

"Thats it? Wow, I'll tell you everything now." she said sarcastically.

"Yes, you will." he grinned.

Suddenly, she heard a high pitched whine before her head exploded into a white hot pain. She shut her eyes against the pain. When she opened them, she sat in a plastic lawn chair staring out across a grass lawn. A young boy walked out into the center of the yard with a tennis ball in his hand and a large happy black lab bounding behind him. She looked down at the sandals on her feet and ice tea she held in her hand.

"Are you listening to me Cal?"

She turned her head toward the voice eyes wide. Her heart stopped and she dropped her iced tea, glass shattering across the concrete patio. Michael Walden sat stood at a barbaque grill a few feet away from her holding a beer and sharing a questioning look with Jack O'Neill who stood next to him.

"Mike?"

"Uh, last I checked. Whats with you?"

"You're not supposed to be here." she was very confused. She had been sure she was aboard some weird ship a few seconds ago. She picked up an ice cube from the pile of glass on the ground. The feeling of cold in her hand was real. This had to be real.

"Last I check kid, this was my house."

She looked around the yard again. This was his house. She had been here many times before. That was his son playing in the yard with the dog. Buster. Buster was the dog's name. This was familiar. Why did it seem so wrong? She looked back at him. His face so bright and happy as it always was. He pulled his sunglasses down so he could look at her through the gap between them and his white Air Force cap. The hat. Its prestine white material florecent in the sunlight. The bright blue of the seal on the from and the wings on the side a brilliant reflection of the cloudless sky above.

"No, you're not supposed to be here. You're not here. This isn't real." she said sadly as she stared at the hat.

Another sharp flash and she found herself on her knees, breathing hard in the chamber of the Goa'uld Torthos. He sat on his throne staring at her with dark eyes. She lifted her head and glared at him, snarling as she spoke.

"Don't do that again."

"Youre threats are weak Tauri." he laughed. "Turn up the strength of the device." he ordered to Morak.

The room spun and Callie found herself sitting on her knees. The dark rocks dug into her knees as she looked up at the dark sky. The loud sound of weapons fire from her left echoed in her ears. She knew immediately where she was. She refused to look down. Down at the weight she held in her lap. At the thick wet liquid she felt covering her arms and chest. She knew. She shut her eyes tightly and growled, forcing the memory from her mind.

Torthos looked furious as she faught the memory away and glared at him through the pain.

"You cannot fight your memories forever." he snarled. "Take her away. Bring me the leader!"

The guards roughly pulled Callie to her feet, as her eyes burned into Torthos. She didn't break her glare until she could no longer see him.

Jack jumped up at the sound of the approaching footsteps. He pressed himself against the bars in an attempt to see as Callie walked around the corner, followed by the guards. Her clenched jaw, icey eyes, and confident posture radiated an aura of anger and hate. He winced as he made eye contact with her, the pure hate he saw there making him uneasy. Morak opened the door to the cell and shoved her in. She turned and stood tall in her 5'4'' posture, glaring at him until he turned and ordered Jack to come out.

"You alright?" Sam asked after the jaffa had pushed Jack down the hall and out of sight.

"Fine."

"What did you tell him?"

"A bunch of bullshit. I don't think he bought the master Yoda bit though."

"Yoda?" Sam asked raising an eyebrow.

"First thing that came to mind."

"What did he want to know?"

"Mostly just who we are and where we're from. He took my tags, but the only thing he got from that was my name. He's got some weird gizmo that gets in your head." she said rubbing her head where the device had been.

"Its a memory recall device." Sam answered.

"Great. All he got out of that was an old barbaque. I called him on it and that was that. He doesn't really like when you call his bluffs."

"We've had experience with them before. How'd you know it was fake?"

"Mike's hat."

"What?"

"Mike's hat. It was clean and in perfect condition. It's never been that pretty." she said picking the hat up from the floor where Sam had set it.

"Nice catch."

"A bright white hat is hard to miss."

"I won't lie to you Callie, its gonna get worse. They longer it goes on, the harder it is to fight. The more he learns, the more accurate the memories become."

"Is there a way to focus more on one memory then on others?"

"What to you mean?"

"Is it possible to keep taking it to say the barbaque, other then to...other places? I can handle a bunch of barbaques."

"You can fight memories, but only for so long. Hopefully we're out of here before that happens."

"Come up with a plan did ya?"

"We're working on it. We're overdue for contact in another 12 hours. When we don't make contact, they'll come looking for us."

"We're orbiting Vacadia I think."

"How do you know?"

"When I was sparring with Teal'c I spent alot of time on my back." she smirked, "everytime I opened my eyes, I was staring at the purple sky. Theres a giant window in Torthos's...office. We're floating above a giant purple planet."

"Maybe we can ring back down. If we can get out of these cells." Sam thought aloud.

"We can what?"

"Most Goa'uld ships have trasport rings. Theyre a means of instant transportation from the ship."

"Like beam me up Scotty kinda transport?"

"Something like that."

"So where would these rings be?"

"In the cargo bay most likely"

"And that would be?"

"I don't know."

"Right. At least its something."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** Okay, just a warning. This chapter has some unpleasant scenes. You knew it was coming, I had to tell what happened that traumatized Callie so much right. Anyways, this is it, and yes theres blood, so if you don't like that, you may want to skip this chapter.

Jack dragged his feet as he walked in between the guards leading them to their masters chambers. The nauseating hue of the gold decor attacked his senses and he wished that gold was as explosive as naquada. He was relieved when Callie had been brought back to her cell. She seemed fine, and carried her own weight, which was always a good sign. Maybe this Goa'uld had lost his touch in the years he had been a loner from the System Lords. But deep down Jack knew that he could'nt be that lucky. He'd watched the discovery channel. The lone wolves tended to be the most dangerous.

Just like dozens of other times, Jack heard his knees pop as Morak and some other jaffa goon pushed him to kneel before Torthos. He sat back on his feet and dusted his hands together, attempting to wipe away the grime from the floor of his cell.

"Fire your cleaning lady?" Jack asked aloud.

Torthos answered him with some over stated insolence comment, but Jack hadn't really hear it. His mind was stuck on the question. Every other Goa'uld ship he'd been on had the cleanest smooth floors he'd ever seen. Someone had to clean them on a regular basis. They always seemed swept, mopped, and even polished. Jack laughed out loud at the image of Morak with a broom.

"What is your name Tauri?"

"O'Neill with two L's. Maybe you've heard of me."

"I have not."

"Oh come on. We blasted the crap out of all kinds of Goa'ulds. Apophis, Ra, Hathor, I forget the others."

"Then you have done me a great favor."

"Great, you can repay that by letting us go."

"What was your purpose on the planet of Vacadia?"

"Oh ya know, little a this, little a that. Lovely weather they have. Great for fishing."

"Your female companion is not so forthcoming with the information I requested."

"Oh you know how women are. Always answering questions with questions and the likes."

"She is strong. I will enjoy breaking her."

Jack bit his tongue.

"From where do you come?"

"Little planet called Earth. Its good for fishing too."

"Ah yes. You are of the Tauri allied with the Tokra. I have heard of your world."

"Thats us."

"Where is the Tok'ra resistance based?"

"Nice try."

"You would be amazed at what I have learned from watching the fall of my brother Goa'uld at the hands of the Tok'ra." Torthos paced in front of him with a grin. "You see, I have my own operatives within the ranks of many System Lords. They tell me that I have captured a prize in you."

"Congratulations. We're happy for you."

"Once I have what I want from you, I will gather my army and take my place amung the System Lords. Earth will be destroyed."

"We won't tell you anything."

Torthos waved his hand in front of Jack's face. The red center of the ribon device glowing brilliantly mere inches from his nose.

"You do not have a choice."

Torthos grinned as a searing pain burned through Jack's skull and throughout his brain.

Sam and Callie sat in their cell going over possibly escape plans when they heard a shuffling from down the hall. They stood quickly, pressing themselves against the bar in attempt to see what was happening.

Jack was being hauled back toward his cell after a painful session with Torthos, when his foot caught the back of Morak's, causing the jaffa to stumble. Jack used the distraction to throw an elbow into the falling mans face and grabbing his zat. The two other goons reacted slowly, giving Jack the time to fire and drop them both.

Jack saw Sam, Callie and Teal'c pressed up against the bars as he rounded the corner. He ran to Teal'c first and yelled,

"How do I open the door?" He pulled at the bars and scrathed at the lock. Most Goa'uld holding cells had keypads, but Torthos seemed very low tech in comparison.

"You must use a key O'Neill" Teal'c instructed

"Crap. Move away from the bars."

Teal'c pulled his hands away from the metal and Jack fired the zat at the lock. The sparks fizzled out and he pulled at the door. The lock held tight. Around the corner they could hear running feet.

"Jack, get out of here!" Callie urged from her spot against the bars.

"Not a chance."

"Sir, find the rings. Its our best chance to get out of here." Sam added, "Its better one of us out then all of us in."

Jack thought for a second before nodding and taking off running in the other direction. The group of angry Jaffa rounded the corner and stopped in front of the cells.

"Where is O'Neill"

"Last we saw him, he was with you."

The jaffa glared at her, then led his group in the direction Jack had run.

An hour later, Morak kneeled before the throne of Torthos.

"My Lord," he began," O'Neill still eludes us."

"You have failed me Morak." Torthos growled. "You will not fail me again."

A staff weapon was fired from behind him, and he fell forward to the floor. Smoke rising from the charred hole in his back.

"Return the woman to me. I will find what she is hiding."

Callie paced the small floor of their cell nerveously waiting for any sign of a quick escape. She hoped and prayed that Jack hadn't been caught and taken to Torthos. She stopped pacing and stepped up to the bars as heavy footsteps marched toward them. She and Sam had planned to jump the guards when then returned, but soon decided against it when the much larger group of jaffa came into view. Apparently they had learned fom the escape of O'Neill.

A new jaffa, one they hadn't seen before, introduced himself as Ekel, the new first prime of Torthos. He pointed a finger at Callie and odrdered her out of the cell. The instant she was clear of the door they surrounded her, getting tight grips on her arms and hauled her away. They weren't taking any chances on another escape. They drug her before Torthos and slammed her down on her knees in front of him.

"Where is O'Neill?" he growled

"Never heard of him."

The blow came from her left, knocking her into the jaffa on her right, who roughly sat her back up right.

"I will not be as patient with your insolence as I was during or last meeting."

"So I gathered." she said wiping at the blood dripping from the new gash to her cheekbone.

With a nod from Torthos, Callie grimaced as her head was jerked back by her hair as Ekel faught to place the memory recall into its place on her head.

"You will tell me everything I want to know, or you will die."

Callie shut her eyes against the pain and felt herself being pushed forward. An ice cold surrounded her and she sat still for a moment, shocked by the cold. Her hands where tied behind her back and she could feel the raw flesh rubbing against the restraints as she tested their strength. She tried to yelp as the restraint rubbed against her fractured wrist but then realized she could pull in the breath to do so. She tried to sit up, but firm hands held her in place. She struggled, throwing her head and trying to sit up, but only managed to splash the icey water onto those holding her under. She felt the edges of her vision begin to fade and her tired achey muscles began to relax. She felt herself being lifted, suddenly she could breath. She coughed, and gagged on the water fighting back the urge to vomit. She opened her eyes, and they slowly focused on the large wooden tub in front of her, filled with pink, blood tinged water.

"You can stop this by telling us what we want to know Captain."

She turned her attention to the man she had come to know as Aamir. His face was set in the same emotionless expression that it always was. He sat on the corner of a small desk staring down at her, and the two men holding her above the bucket of water. Her face was numb from both the cold of the water, and the numerous cuts and bruises from previous incounters with Aamir. The muscles in her back screamed at any kind of motion, the healing tears from a day with a bull whip and a man named Sahab pulling and re-opening with the harsh movements of fighting to breath.

"You know I won't. You might as well just kill me now."

Aamir lept off the side of the desk and was crouched down in her face in one smooth motion. His dirty hand clasped her chin, digging into an open cut, and forced her to look at him. He pulled a pistol from his waist with the other hand and pushed its muzzle hard into the side of her head. His brown eyes bore into hers, looking for any sign of fear, but was met with only calm, tired exceptance. His face twitched and he released her chin, swinging the gun at her. It's cool metal connected with her head, knocking her forward into the bucket of water. The two sets of hands grabbed onto her shirt and held her under until she couldn't see and happily excepted sleep.

A white flash and she was sitting on a wooden bar stool nursing a rum and coke while Billy Joel's Piano man played lightly from the jukebox. She turned her head at her best friend sitting next to her.

"So you're just givin up huh?" Mike said before taking a sip of his beer.

"What?"

His face was calm and friendly. His hat torn and dirty as it always was. He turned to her and smiled, his charming fun smile that only belonged to him.

"You had a bad day Cal. It happens."

"A man died because I hesitated Mike."

"No, a man died because the enemey killed him. You didn't hesitate. You were in a bad spot and knew you couldn't get a clean shot."

"Tell that to his wife."

"So you give up, you leave me and Jack to save everyone by ourselves."

"That'll be the day. I can't even leave for one day without you two getting into all kinds of trouble."

"That was all Jack."

"Sure it was." They shared a laugh.

"I hate how you always cheer me up. You need to leave so I can get drunk and sulk"

"Not a chance kid. You're stuck with me, forever and ever. Thats what friends do."

"Go!"

Callie blinked at the shout and found herself no longer on a bar stool. The hand which had held her drink now held a rappel line. She looked up, where the shout had come from and straight at the underside of the helicopter she was dangling from. It was windy and dusty and she couldn't see the ground below her. A voice echoed in her ear.

"Whats the hold up Cal?" it was Jack O'Neill.

"Jack, where are you?"

"I'm on the ground, where you should be Captain. Get down here."

Callie looked down and quickly made her decent to the ground. She unhooked herself from the line and stood looking around for a second. A stong hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her roughly to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mike barked.

"What?" she asked confused. Where was she?

"You think this is a drill! We're in hostile territory. Get your head in the game Cal!"

She looked around at the desert terrain around them. She felt the weight of her M4 sniper rifle strapped to her back. She blinked agaisnt the dust and suddenly it was dark. She heard movement next to her and turned to Mike. His face was stern and focused as he peeked over a rock cropping. He shifted his weight and she heard the sound of the dark shale shifting beneath his feet. She looked down at the small broken rocks, scooped a handful and studied it, wondering why it was so familiar.

"I'm going in." Mike said pulling her eyes from the rocks in her hand.

Her chest tightened and she felt a wave of fear grab at her. She looked at him, knowing exactly what she would see. She saw his face in her dreams. It was etched into her mind, a constant reminder of the moment she could have stopped him. She wanted to stop him. She knew how this ended. She had lived it before, and relived it a thousand times since. Instead she found herself nodding and lifting her gun to cover him as he lept over the rock and carefully made his way toward the small shack in front of them.

A sound behind her had her turning, raising her gun. Jack's hands shot up and he knelt next to her.

"What the hell? Mike just went in after you." she said turning back to the shack.

"What?"

"We thought you were in there." she pointed at the shack. "He went in to get you."

A loud shot made them both jump, and Callie caught sight of movement to the right of the shack. She fired her M16 at the approaching guards. She heard a few more shots coming from inside the shack and a figure came stumbling from the door and toward them. Callie would recognize his 6'2'' form from a mile away and held her fire. She could also spot his smooth confident stride anywhere, and this was not it. Something was wrong.

"Cover me." she directed as she crouched around the rock and fired a few shots while running up to Mike and grabbing him around the waist, pulling him down behind the shack and out of fire.

"Mike?"

He dropped to his knees, taking her down with him. She caught him as he went to his side in the dirt. She lowered him onto her lap and looked over him for the cause of this. Red speckles across his chin alerted her and she realized his breathing was really wrong. She reached for his jacket collar with shaking hands, tears filling her eyes. She pulled open the velcro on the collar and bit back tears.

"Oh god." she groaned. The bullet had hit him underneath his collorbone above his sternum. She put her hand over it, trying to stop the spurt of blood with every breath he tried to take. Mike caught her hand with his. His eyes focused in on hers and the gunfire from around them seemed to fade away. His body shuddered but his eyes stayed focused on her and she couldn't look away.

"Its okay Mikey. We got him. I won't stop until theyre all dead." he shook his head no.

He tried to say something, but ended up coughing on the blood. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration. His hand shook as it reached for his shirt pocket. Callie opened the pocket for him and pulled out the sturdy paper and put it in his hand. He pushed it at her and blinked heavily. She looked down at the photograph of him and his family in her hand. She blinked hard, pushing at the tears and looked back down into his eyes.

"We'll take care of them." she said quietly. He nodded and gave her a weak smile. His body shuddered with a shakey breath and then he went still. She shut her eyes, letting the tears flow freely, lifting him to her chest in the last hug they would ever share. She turned her eyes to the dark sky above and cursed in anger.

Jack came crashing down next to her as he dove away from the firefight to find her. He took in the sight and his heart ached. His best friends on the ground, both covered in blood, and he knew things would never be the same. He wanted to join in, and say goodbye properly, but the Commander in him took over, realizing they weren't in a position for this. As he numbly pulled Callie from her spot and faught with her to let go of their fallen friend, he realized he would alway regret having to end things like this. He would never forgive himself.

"We have to go!" he barked.

Torthos sat on his throne watching the woman on the floor in front of him intently. He had not expected such harsh memories to overtake his prisoner. He watched as she sat on her knees in front of him, sobs wracking her body. His jaffa had let go of her arms and watched with curious eyes. Torthos motioned his hand, and they scooped up the weak woman and drug her to stand before him.

Callie felt herself being lifted and drug her feet, trying to walk. She stopped in front of a large golden chair. The evil face of the her Goa'uld capture blurred out and was replaced by the smiling face of Mike Walden.

"Got yourself in a mess this time Cal." he said.

She blinked the tears and a sob shook her. Her tired mind faught between reality and dream. She blinked hard and looked back up at him.

"Where is Jack Callie?"

"I don't know." she said, barely above a whisper.

"He escaped. We have to find him before they do. Where is he?"

"I really don't know." she said again a bit louder.

Her mind told her this wasn't real. She knew it wasn't real. She was angry they would use this against her. They had done it before, in Iraq. They had used the death of her friend against her. She wouldn't let them. She would die before she would let them use Mike for their own purposes. She opened her eyes, a blue fire burning in them. Sitting in front of her, Mike's face went from a friendly smile, to the evil smile of Aamir, then Sahab, then to Torthos.

The eyes of the jaffa holding her opened wide as they felt the muscles in her arms tense. They tightened their grip on her as her small form straighten and she stood tall. She turned her head and glared at Ekel. In one quick practiced motion, she kicked her foot off the front of Torthos's chair and flipped over backwards, pulling her arms from the grip of the jaffa. She saw red as she thrust her palm up into the nose of the jaffa, feeling the small bone break and shift under her hand. She grabbed the staff weapon from his hand and swung it like a baseball bat, connecting with the head of Ekel, dropping him. She swung it again at the jaffa with the broken nose. He caught it and pulled it away from her. She used the momentum to drive herself into him as she had done to Teal'c the previous day. As he tried to sit up, she slammed her head forward into his broken nose, knocking him back down. She lifted her first and squng down hard, knuckles splitting against his teeth. She lifted it again, and swung. Over and over she swung her fist as hard as she could. Her anger driving past her limitations as she swung down at the the jaffa. At Torthos. At Aamir, and Sahab.

She was still swinging as a jaffa behind her swung his staff weapon, connecting with the back of her skull.


	12. Chapter 12

Daniel had finally waken up from him fitfull sleep induced by a long session with Torthos's ribbon device. He sat up groggily and looked around. Teal'c sat across from him, cross legged in a state of Kel'no'reem. Across the hall Sam sat with her back against the wall, resting her head on her knees.

"Aren't we missing someone? Or a couple someones?" he asked.

Sam jerked her head up and smiled.

"Glad to see you awake. You were out for a long time. How are you?"

"Oh you know, little headache. Where's Jack?"

"I don't know. He managed to get away from Torthos's guards, but he's hiding somewhere on the ship. They came and took Callie away a few hours ago."

"Jack's out? Thats a good thing right?"

"Yeah. We just have to wait for him to let us in on his plan."

"Assuming he has one." he added.

"How's the major handling all this?" he asked motioning to the cells around him.

"Better then expected. She came back a little pissed off the first time, but other then that, she seemed fine."

"Thats good news right." Sam nodded.

A single jaffa rounded the corner, quietly catching both of their attention. He glared at them as he walked past their cells and unlocked an empty one next to the cell holding Daniel and Teal'c. He tucked the key back into his armor and left the door open as he walked back down the way he had come. Sam looked over at Daniel with questions on her face and he shrugged. A few minutes later the jaffa returned, with two more jaffa following him. Each of them held an arm of an unconscious Callie Parker over their shoulder, dragging her feet under her. As they drug her past the cell, Sam studied the condition of the younger woman. Blood had soaked the back of her shirt, from a head wound to the back of head. Other then a small cut and bruis on her cheekbone, and a small burn mark from the memory recall device, her face seemed unscathed. Sam caught sight of the major's right hand, draped around the neck of the jaffa as it passed in front of her face. The skin across her knuckles were cracked open and blood oozed down the back of her hand and down her arm. A injury that only came from hitting something very hard with a closed fist.

The jaffa drug the woman to the open cell door and dumped her roughly on the floor, before backing out and locking the door behind them. Sam watched them leave, then pushed herself into the corner of her own cell to see as much of the major as possible. She watched for a second, then was relieved as she saw a smooth rise and fall of steady breathing.

Jack cursed as he nailed his head against a metal beam for the third time as he crawled through the ventalation of the mothership. If Felger could evade detection by crawling through the vents, then why couldn't he. He rubbed the bump on his head and shook his fist at the opposing beam. He continued crawling until he heard light talking below him. He peeked through a crack and could see the bars of the cells holding his friends a few feet away. He crawled forward a little more until he was sure he was right above them.

"Carter." he said quietly. The coversation between his friends stopped and they listened silently. "Carter." he said a little louder.

"Sir?" she looked around. "Where are you?"

Jack felt the side of the vent and pushed at it. It gave way easier then he had expected and he almost fell through as it opened. Carter stepped forward and smiled at her CO as he poked his head out.

"Did you find the rings sir?"

"Yeah. Im pretty sure I can find my way back to them."

"Did you get a key?"

"Don't need one. You come in here. Its safer. Where's Callie?" he finally realized the other woman wasn't in the cell with Sam. Sam frowned and pointed to the cell across the hall. A noise across from them signaled that Teal'c had pulled open the vent compartment in their cell. Daniel was quickly climbing through, with the help of Teal'c as Jack helped Sam up into their own, before pulling the cover back up. They crawled in single file, following the tunnel to the left, where they bumped into Teal'c and Daniel. Daniel pulled himself into a ball, squeezing in the tight space to turn around. They followed Teal'c a few feet before the jaffa stopped and felt the side of the vent, looking for the opening. He pushed hard, flipping the cover to the last cell open and peeked his head out.

"Major Parker?" he said quietly.

"Ah hell, Daniel move" Jack said pushing Daniel back and crawling over him so he could see into the cell.

"Callie wake up damnit!" he yelled quietly sticking his head through the hole. She didn't stir. He waiting a second, ears sharp to any nearby sound before he quietly climbed out and into the cell. He hurried to Callies side and rolled her over to her back. He tapped her on the side of her face and called her name, hoping she would wake up. He wasn't sure how they were going to drag a sleeping woman through the vents without making too much noise. He heard a shuffling and Teal'c was by his side, lifting the small woman to his shoulder. Jack nodded and climbed back into the vent. Jack and Daniel pulled Callie into the vent and out of the way enough for Teal'c to climb in, and Sam pulled the door shut behind them.

All five members of SG1 crammed were out of sight of any approaching jaffa, but now faced another problem. They would have to crawl in single fit through the tight tunnels, and now they had to drag alone a completely unconscious woman, and remain undetected.

"What happened?" Jack asked looking down at the sleeping woman.

"They came back and got her after you got away from them." Sam explained. "They brought her back like this just a half hour or so before you showed up."

"Okay. Doesn't matter, we gotta get outa here before they discover you're gone. Carter, you and Daniel go first. Teal'c and I will get Parker."

Sam nodded and turned around to head back the direction Jack had come from with Daniel on her feet. Jack and Teal'c each grabbed a handful of Callie's shirt collar and crept along behind them, dragging the major as quietly as possible behind them.

Sam rounded another tight corner and was met by a dark, uneven line stretching down the vet wall ahead of her. She looked back and smiled at the Colonel. Jack had drawn a line, marking the direction he had crawled with the Sharpie marker he had placed in his pocket to mark on the shooting targets, turning the vent system into his own personal coloring book maze. Sam stopped suddenly and motioned for everyone to hold still. A loud voice of a jaffa echoed underneath them as he informed his partner of the escape. Once the jaffa had run off into the direction of the cells, Sam began crawling again at a quicker pace, but remaining as quiet as possible.

"Mike?" Callie groaned.

Jack froze, looking down at the woman. Her eyes were still closed, her face pale and covered in a layer of sweat. He looked back up to Sam. She had heard it to. Callie repeated the name and turned her head, blinking heavily.

"Carter go!" he ordered and Sam began crawling again.

Callie lifted her arm slowly trying to stop the ceiling above her from moving. She was sure she was laying on her back. She could feel the ground under her. But why was everything moving. The movement made her stomach turn and she the brightness blinded her. She heard people talking around her. She remembered the white light. The white light meant pain. It meant memories and it meant Mike was dead. She remembered fighting. She needed fight. To escape the white light. She lazily kicked her foot out, trying to fight, but her muscles wouldn't let her.

"Damnit!" Jack cursed as Callie's foot kicked out and thumped back down loudly on the vent, echoing a loud sound.

Sam and Daniel turned around with wide eyes at the sound and they could hear jaffa running underneath them.

"Carter Move!"

Sam scrambled faster, noise be damned. Their position was known and now it was a race. She followed the black line around another corner and her heart lept as she saw where it ended. She could hear Jack and Teal'c fighting with the struggling woman a few feet behind her as she kicked open the vent cover at the end of the line. She peeked out before climbing through and running to the bay door. She slammed the keypad with her fist, shutting the doors as she heard the feet of the jaffa running toward her. Daniel hopped out of the vent and pushed some things out of the way of the rings, and ran to the controls. Jack hopped out, trying to hold on to the flailing feet of his friend, and Teal'c tried not to drop the rest of her. Jack let go of her feet and let her stand and Teal'c let go. Callie stood on wobbly feet, blinking hard trying to still the room as it spun around her. Familiar faces flashed in front of her. Mike, Jack, Sam, Torthos, Teal'c, Aamir, Ekel, Daniel. She felt someone at her side and turned, raising her fists in defense.

Jack watched as Callie wobbled in front of him. She looked confused and dizzy. Her face paled even more and he could see her fighting against what her eyes were showing her. She spun around suddenly raising her hands to thin air. A yell from Sam caught his attention, and he grabbed Callie in a strong bearhug, and drug her, tripping over her own feet into the circle. Daniel activated the rings and jumped in. The rings raised up from the floor, engulfing them in the brilliant white light.


	13. Chapter 13

Jack, glanced down at the sleeping form his friend as he sat in the dark against the wall of the stone ruin that had once been a Vacadian ceremonial place. As soon as the rings had spit them out on the planet, Callie had collapsed against him, finally giving in to the concussion he was sure she had. They had really dodged a bullet with that escape. Teal'c had tossed her over his shoulder and they had run to find cover as quickly as they could, knowing Torthos still had jaffa on the planet and would no doubt send more after them. Daniel had spotted this place the previous day, not being the type to be interested in the shooting lessons, he'd explored the area. For that, Jack was thankful. They still had the problem of getting home without a GDO, but they weren't that overdue, Hammond would send a MALP through. If they were lucky they could get a message to him when he did.

"I'm sorry." he whispered to her. "I should have just left you at the academy."

Sam, walked quietly over to him and sat down against the wall facing him. She handed him the dirty white, torn, and now blood stained Air Force cap. He took the hat from her and studied it with his hands. Remembering when and each hole and tear had been put into the material.

"That thing has been to hell and back." she said watching him turn it over in his hands.

He smirked and nodded. His eyebrows furrowed as he felt a crinkle under his hands as he folded it. Sam watched as he turned it over, and folded the sweatband down, and pulled out an old worn, wrinkled photograph. Tears stung his eyes as he looked down at the smiling faces of his lost friend and his family. The photograph was torn and miscolored from years of abuse, first in the pocket of its original owner, then another few years in its place in the baseball cap. He ran his finger slowly over the face of his friend and bit back tears. He had been best friends with Mike since their days at the academy. They had been unseperable. Jack had been to his wedding. Had watched his kids grow. Mike had done the same with Charlie. Jack hadn't been given the chance to say goodbye to his friend. Callie had, and for the longest time, he had hated her for it. But now, looking down at the picture in his hand, and over at the woman next to him, as she suffered with the guilt and grief of reliving it over and over, he realized she had saved him from that. She had taken the burden of living with his death. The last image his eyes would ever see was her face, comforting him. The last words he had spoken where directed at her. She had accepted the responsibility of being the last person he spoke to. She had been on the recieving end of his last smile. Jack knew he couldn't live with that. For the first time, he thanked her for being the one to say goodbye.

Sam tried to look away as she watched the hidden emotions of her CO and friend flood over him as he looked at the picture. Tears threatened her. Watching him struggle with his emotions, was enough to break her heart. She couldn't help but to wonder if telling him about the Major working at the academy was a bad idea. But then, a light smile tugged at his face. She watched as he wiped away a single tear, and put the picture back in the hat and set it next to the sleeping major.

"Are you okay sir?" Sam asked as he looked up at her.

"Yeah. Actually I am." he nodded. "Finally, I've got my closure."

Sam gave him a reassuring smile and looked down at the woman sleeping next to him. For the first time since this whole thing began, she was comforted by the feeling, that everything would be ok, and work out for the best for them.

The morning came, and Jack woke to the sound of someone moving around him. He sat up and startled Callie, who was tightening the laces of her shoes.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get us outa here." she said trying to stand.

"And how are you gonna do that?"

"Those guys are guarding the stargate right?"

"More then likely."

"How far is that from here?"

"Maybe a mile."

"And that sniper prototype is based on the XM109 right?"

"Yeah," he was starting to see where she was going with this.

"Shorter or Longer distance?"

"Definately Longer. Even if we could find that gun, you've got a concussion, you couldn't hit a brick wall from that distance."

"But you can."

Jack stared at her for a minute, running the possibilities over in his head. They would have to go for the guns either way. He had to decided to go for the case of P90s or the rifle.

"She's right sir." Sam said behind him. She, Daniel, and Teal'c had all sat up and listened at some point during the conversation. All of them agreeing it was worth a shot.

"Okay, but you're staying here. We'll go for the gun." he cut her off as she started to argue. "We don't need you passing out in the bushes somewhere. Trust us to do this. Its what we do, and we're good at it."

She nodded and sat back down on the ground. Daniel sat down next to her, being directed to stay with her by Jack, and the trio of soldiers took off into the trees.

"Are you alright?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Well, you weren't really yourself for awhile."

"How do you know that?" she grinned, "You don't know me very well Doctor."

"Touche" he leaned against the wall next to her. "What made you think of the rifle?"

"You won't believe me if I told you."

He snorted, "Try me."

"Mikey told me."

"Smart guy." he said with a friendly smile.

"You don't think I'm crazy?"

"Oh trust me, I've heard way crazier things."

"Right."

"You know, talking to loved one thats moved on isn't crazy. Its human. Keeping them alive in spirit, and trusting them to guide you. Thats faith. Don't lose faith Callie."

Callie looked into Daniel's eyes and saw something very comforting, and very familiar there. Something that told her he was right.

Awhile later, Jack, Sam, and Teal'c came galloping up next to them, carrying one of the plastic crates.

"You wouldn't believe it, it was right where we left it." Jack said excited, handing the rifle over to Callie.

"I told you." she said popping the magazine and counting the rounds.

"Four rounds. How many guys do you think will be at the gate?"

"More then four."

"Lets see. Which way is the gate?"

"East." Sam answered pointing.

Callie stood slowly and lifted the gun and pointed it toward the east. It felt very heavy in her weakened and strained muscles as she lowered her eye to the scope. Her head spun and she faultered, Sam and Daniel jumping to balance her.

"Ugh, you look." she told Jack sitting back down with the help of Sam and Daniel.

Jack peeked through the scope and found the stargate. He scanned the area around it and counted the jaffa standing post around it.

"Twelve." he said dissapointed. "It was a good idea anyway."

"Still is sir." Sam replied. "Sir, we're overdue for check in now. General Hammond will dial up and send a MALP through for contact soon. Sir, we can use the four rounds we have to signal the MALP. They'll know we're still here."

Two hours later, Jack stood sat on the wall, occasionally looking through the scope to make sure the gate wasn't dialed in. They had went through the crate, arming themselves with P90s, and a berretta. Callie pulled a hand grenade out of the bottom of the crate and flahed it at Jack with a smirk and she tucked it into her cargo pocket.

"I thought they should learn to use them." he shrugged, "we just hadn't got that far in training."

They sat silently for awhile until Callie let out a snort of a laugh from her spot against the wall causing everyone to look at her.

"Allergies?" Jack asked

"Nah, I was just thinkin. Don't you find it ironic that you all travel millions of light years to other planet's and fight an alien species that will capture you and torture you for information, when you could just cross the ocean on our own planet and do the exact same thing. How are we supposed to bring peace to the galaxy if we can't even manage to get it our own planet?"

"We aren't bringing peace to the entire galaxy. Thats impossible. There always has to be dark to contrast light. Thats the way it is. Our goal is to defend the helpless, regardless what planet theyre on. We aren't fighting to protect our enemies on earth. We're fighting so that their children have the opportunity to grow up and have a choice." Daniel answered.

"And when they chose to be bad?"

"Then they will get whats coming to them. But who are we to take away that choice."

She shrugged. "I agree, I was just sayin, Its ironic."

"Ok, enough of the meaning of life talk, we've got movement on he gate." Jack said, eye pushed into the scope of the rifle.

Callie stood up and balanced herself on the wall next to Jack.

"The SGC?"

"Yep."

"Wait for the MALP sir."

"See if any of them are lined up. Take out as many as we can with the shots we have."

"Theres the MALP." he blinked hard and refocused. "They're blurry. What if I hit the MALP?"

"What if a purple monkey flew outa my butt and started talking to you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry, something my dad used to tell me, wheneve I'd asked a what if. Just take a deep breath. Focus and let the recoil surprise you. If you don't expect the shot, you won't try to compensate."

Jack shook off the purple monkey comment and put his eye back to the scope. He took a breath and squeezed off the first round. Two of the jaffa next to the MALP fell to the ground. He swept the gun to the right and fired off another round, dropping another jaffa. The others scattered and ran for cover. Jack tracked one of them, firing a little ahead of him, dropping him midstride. A spotted one, crouched behind the DHD, scanning for the shooter. Jack grinned and sighted in on him. The last shot spiraled from the gun and caught the jaffa in the chest.

"Thats it. I'm out."

Sam grabbed the scope and twisted it off. She swung it hard against the stone wall, breaking it into pieces.

"Um, Sam?"

Sam picked up the lense of the scope and jumped up on the top of the wall. She stood tall and caught the sun in the glass. She flashed the reflection of the sun at the MALP. She sent morse code at where she hoped the MALP was. After a few minutes, the gate disengaged and she hopped off the wall.

"Smart." Callie complimented patting Sam on the back.

"I have my moments" Sam teased.

"And you," Callie pointed at Jack, "You could have sniped a fly off a dead bird, what the hell was with all that, "what if I miss" crap?"

"I wanted you to feel involved." he admitted.

"Jackass." she laughed.


End file.
